Rebuild a Foundation
by xblackrosefirex
Summary: It's been ten years since Miriam walked out on her husband and children, and in those ten years, a fiery resentment in Helga towards her mother was born. However, Miriam finally returns, intent on establishing a relationship with her youngest daughter, and to right the wrongs she did to Helga. But, will Helga accept? Rated: M for swearing, alcohol and tobacco use.
1. Chapter 1: Miriam's Return

This idea stemmed from my story, Mother No More. Helga's relationship with her parents has been so complex, that I wanted to write another story about it.

Summary: It's been ten years since Miriam walked out on her husband and children, and in those ten years, a fiery resentment in Helga towards her mother was born. However, Miriam finally returns, intent on establishing a relationship with her youngest daughter, and to right the wrongs she did to Helga. But, will Helga accept?

Rated: M for swearing, alcohol and tobacco use. By the way, Helga is about 19 in this.

Chapter One: Miriam's Return

"Aww man! They raise the bus fare another ten cents again!" A tall lanky boy named Stinky Peterson fumbled around in his pocket, and then dropped a dime into the coin collection box.

"Whoopdee-freaking doo!" Helga Pataki also put in a dime into the coin collection box. She was tired from a six hour day at the Hillwood Community College, and just wanted to get home, relax and watch some TV.

Helga's best friend Phoebe walked with Helga to the center left row of the bus, their usual seat. It suited them just fine, as it wasn't the front of the bus where it was near impossible to get a seat unless you left class five minutes early. Too bad no teacher ever allowed such a thing. However, it wasn't the bumpy as hell back of the bus either, where you were very likely to get thrown up on.

"So Helga," Phoebe said as they were sitting down, "Do you want to see a movie tomorrow night? There's this new French art film that looks positively wonderful."

Helga merely rolled her eyes. The idea of sitting through a two hour art film, especially one in a different language, didn't suit her much. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate culture, there were just a million other things she would rather do.

"Ugh, no thanks Phoebes. Besides, I'm working tomorrow, 8-9 PM."

Helga had gotten a job at the local smoothie shop. It wasn't very great, paid $8.75 an hour, but it was still something Helga could do to keep her from getting bored.

But, I think I'm free the day after," she then said, "I'll have to check my work schedule. No promises though, my stupid boss loves to schedule me every day of the week, even though nobody ever comes in there. Sure as hell hope he doesn't make me stay overtime."

It was the month of December, and she had been scheduled to work practically every day of that week. Seriously, who gets a smoothie in the middle of winter?

As Helga reached her stop, she told Phoebe she would get back to her on possibly hanging out Sunday night. She walked off the bus, and saw something very strange:

A bright red car was parked outside her house.

'Olga probably has some friends over,' she thought.

About three years ago, Olga had moved back in with Bob and Helga, after their mother, Miriam, had packed her bags and left without so much as an explanation, or a goodbye. At first, Bob was against it, preferring that Olga continue to live life the way she wanted it, and he and "the girl" were doing just fine. But, after months and months and months of coaxing from his oldest daughter, Bob finally agreed.

Helga walked into the house.

"Olga, Bob, I'm ho….." She was instantly cut off at the sight in the family living room.

Bob and Olga were all sitting down. Bob sat in one chair, and Olga sat in the one opposite Bob. Bob looked as if he really didn't want to be there, and Olga's expression was that of complete and utter nervousness.

But the one person that really caught the younger blonde's eyes, was the woman sitting on the couch. Her blonde hair was curled, a clue cap sat on her head. In fact, she was wearing all blue, save for her black purse which she clutched in her lap.

"Hello, Helga," the woman said quietly.

Suddenly, Helga's eyes narrowed dangerously. Suddenly, the entire house got cold, very cold. Suddenly, time seemed to have come to a screeching halt. Suddenly, Helga wanted to punch right through the living room wall, turn on her heel, run out the door, keep running, and never look back.

_"What the hell is SHE doing here?!" _

And BAM! Miriam has returned to the Pataki family, and Helga is not happy about it. How will this interaction go between a mother and her two estranged children? Stay tuned for chapter two to find out!


	2. Chapter 2: A Ruined Encounter!

Chapter Two: A Ruined Encounter!

Hope everyone enjoyed chapter two. By the way, points to anyone who can tell why I named the story Rebuild a Foundation. It's actually pretty easy.

In this chapter, Miriam reunites with her husband and two daughters'. However, Helga is none too pleased.

The rating has not changed. Also, I completely forgot to do a disclaimer, so, here it goes: I do not own Hey Arnold, or any of the characters in the show.

_"What the hell is SHE doing here?"_ Helga's voice was filled with such venom, even Bob winced at the sound of it.

Olga stood up to try and calm the furious Helga.

"Helga, sweetie, I think it would be best if you sat…."

_"No! I want to know what the hell she's doing here!" _She jabbed a finger in the direction of Miriam. Helga suddenly wished that her finger was a knife, or that a powerful gust of wind would shoot out and blast Miriam into the other side of town.

Miriam sighed, and stood up herself, still clutching her purse.

"Helga, I've…I've come to live with you, Olga and your father again. I've realized I made a terrible mistake, leaving you girls like at, and when you were so young. I've come to rebuild our relationship Helga.

Helga's bright blue eyes nearly popped out of her skull.

"A terrible mistake? Rebuild our relationship? Are you f_reaking KIDDING me?! _ You walked out on us! You left without so much as an explanation or a goodbye, and now you think you can just come back here, like nothing happened? Like everything is ok? _ What the hell gives you the right, Miriam?!"_

"Helga!" Bob said sharply, eyeing his youngest. Helga looked at Miriam with disgust and hatred.

Finally, she grabbed her bag and her coat.

"Fuck this shit!" She hissed, "I'm leaving!"

Ignoring her father's shouts, Helga slammed the front door and left.

"Well, that could have gone better," Bob said, now looking at the front door. Miriam placed a hand on his shoulder, wearing a sad smile.

"Did you really expect it to go any other way, B?"

Olga moved to grab her own coat, and car keys.

"I'll go after her." Miriam held up her hand.

"No. She needs to be alone. She just…needs some time."

Both Bob and Olga looked at her. Too bad it wasn't going to take more than time for Helga to even consider forgiving Miriam.

Helga walked down the street, a lit cigarette in her mouth. She was fuming; so many emotions were running through her mind: anger, bitterness, hatred, resentment, surprise, and hesitation. They jumped around her mind, so fierce were they that the poor girl felt a headache coming on.

She kept walking. She didn't know where she was going, but she didn't care. All she wanted to do was get as far away from that house, and Miriam, as possible, or at the very least, until her legs gave way.

'How dare Miriam,' Helga thought, 'How dare she?!'

Ten years ago, Miriam had left her two children and Bob. There was no note, no goodbye, no explanation, nothing that said where she was going, or what she was doing. She just left.

Bob and Olga did their best to live life normally, but Helga was shattered. Watching young girls her age (at the time) with their mother's sent Helga into a bout of depression. Sure, Miriam was never really there for Helga even when she was around, but Helga often wondered if her mom ever gave a shit. If she ever spent five minutes to actually care.

And now, Miriam was back, intent on reestablishing a relationship with her children, especially Helga.

That was what infuriated Helga, more than anything. To her, it would have been much better if her mother had stayed done. Just dropped all contact, and never had anything to do with her husband and children ever again.

You don't decide that you no longer want to be a parent, and then come back ten years later, acting as if everything is ok.

Bob and Olga may forgive Miriam, but Helga never would. She would make sure Miriam saw that.

And if Helga telling Miriam in every sense of the world to go fuck herself would make that wretched woman leave, Helga would do it.

So, Helga obviously feels a lot of anger toward her mother. Who can blame her? If one of my parents left me with so much as a goodbye, or even an explanation, I'd probably wouldn't be too keen on giving them a second chance either.


	3. Chapter 3: A Discussion with Phoebe

Chapter Three: Discussion with Phoebe

Back again. I hope everyone reading this likes the story. Remember, reviews are welcomed, and constructive criticism is as well!

In this chapter, Helga pays Phoebe a visit.

Helga had found herself on Phoebe's doorstep. The blonde hit the door bell once…twice…three times, before she heard feet running down the stairs and opening the door.

Phoebe stood there with a surprised look on her face.

"Helga?" she asked in alarm, "What are you doing here, it's 9 o'clock at night!"

"Miriam's back."

That was all it took for Phoebe to usher Helga in. Before the blonde knew it, she was sitting at Phoebe's dinner table.

Phoebe handed Helga a very large glass of wine. Usually, she was highly against under-age drinking, but she knew Helga needed that glass, badly.

Besides, her parents usually didn't care, as long as Helga and Phoebe promised not to leave the house, and if the girl's promised that they would be the only ones having a drink.

"What happened?" Phoebe asked as she sat down across from Helga.

Helga took a very large gulp of wine, before setting the glass down.

"I had just gotten off the bus, walked into my house, and lo and behold, there was Miriam. "

"Well…where was she? Did she say anything? "

"How the hell am I supposed to know where that woman was? And she said she wanted to reestablish a relationship with me," she took another gulp of wine, "Like there's a fucking chance that'll ever happen."

Phoebe wore a sad look on her face. She was the first person that Helga has called, when the poor girl finally realized that her mother had just walked out on her and the rest of the family. Helga was trying so hard, but Phoebe could tell the girl was on the verge of tears.

After that, Helga's life was a mess. She and Bob become more distant, her father preferring to stay extra hours at work, rather than deal with the problem at home.

Helga wasn't the only person Miriam was furious with. When Phoebe had told her parents, they were shocked, and angry with Miriam's actions. They could not believe that a mother would just walk out on her family like that.

However, there was something Phoebe wanted to tell Helga. As much as Helga had every right to be angry with and hate Miriam, it wouldn't hurt if Helga at least agreed to talk to her mother.

"If that bitch thinks I'm going to forgive her or even talk to her, then the jokes on her!"

Ok, so, convincing Helga to talk to her mom right now probably wasn't the best idea.

So, Phoebe stayed quiet, but she listened. She listened to Helga rant about Miriam, how she hated her, how she had no right to just think she can walk back into her life, how everything was fine until she showed up, how she just wants her to leave.

By the time Helga was done ranting, her glass of wine was empty. She jabbed a finger at the glass, and Phoebe refilled it.

"So…what are you going to do?"

Helga shrugged.

"I don't know. I know that I want nothing to do with Miriam. I know that I'm madder than hell at her, and I know I don't want to talk to her, and I know that I want her gone, and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure she leaves. But right now, I don't even want to think about it. I can't deal with my boss, or with people tomorrow. I'm going to call in sick from work. Hey Phoebes, can I stay the night? I'll text my dad and let him know."

Phoebe nodded. Helga was more than welcome to stay. She believed that the entire situation was very sad, but she couldn't force Helga to forgive, or talk to Miriam. Nobody could.

Still, she wished that everything would turn out ok.

I hope that wasn't too bad. I wanted to get chapter three up and running. Quite frankly, I want to upload as many chapters as I possibly can before school starts and it takes over my life.

Yes, Helga drinks in this story. Yes, she is 19 years old. Remember, this is just a story. I do not, in fact, condone under-aged drinking. I may have done it a few times, but every time was outside of the United States.


	4. Chapter 4: How it's Going to Be

Review Responses:

**Nairobi-Harper**

Thank you very much for your review. I do plan on continuing this story, but like I said, I will be posting as many chapters possible before school starts.

And hey, will Helga forgive her mom? You'll have to continue reading the story to find out!

And don't worry, Bob will be back to his blow-hard Pataki self very soon.

**Nep2uune**

Thanks very much for the review.

Everyone later on will know the reason why Miriam left. Also, Helga may or may not eventually hear her mom out. I'm writing this story, but I'm still trying to figure out where it's going to go.

And no, Helga's drinking won't escalate to the point of alcoholism (I can't see that happening), but she may (or may not) get in trouble for it.

Yes, Phoebe should tell Helga what's up, and I agree that Arnold would have told her. Keep in mind though; it probably wouldn't have done any good at the time. Helga was so hurt and furious, that both Phoebe and Arnold's pleas would have fallen on deaf ears. It's one of those moments, where you have to choose your words, depending on the person's mood. Sometimes you have to let someone who is so angry that the time, feel that anger and let it out. Later on, I will have both Phoebe and Arnold be the voices of reason. Helga would be more inclined to listen to them, than her own family.

Chapter Four: How it's Going to Be

Helga left Phoebe's house, at around 10 in the morning, but not before calling her boss, telling him she was sick (she even made fake barfing noises), and that she would not be coming into work. Her boss was miffed, but did not want a sick person scaring away the customers.

When she reached her house, she noticed that Bob, Olga and Miriam were all sitting in the living room. Quite honestly, it gave Helga a sense of déjàvu.

"She's still here?" Helga scowled at Miriam.

"Helga, we have something to talk to you about. Would you sit down please?" Olga asked her younger sister.

"Yeah, you know what? I have a major headache, so if you all don't mind I…."

"Young lady, you park your fanny on that couch right now!"

Helga rolled her eyes, but nonetheless sat down. She knew better than to disobey when Bob gave that tone.

"Alright, what does the wonderful Pataki family have to tell me?"

Bob and Olga looked at Miriam, as if cuing her so speak to the youngest Pataki child.

But Miriam eyed Olga, indicating that it was best if someone else tell her.

"Helga, sweetie, daddy, mommy and I all had a very long discussion when you were gone. We thought long and hard about it, but we all decided that mommy is going to move back in with us."

Helga's eyes narrowed dangerously. They were allowing Miriam to move back in? After what she did?

"So, you're letting her move back in, and then you're going to act like nothing happened."

The entire family was silent, until Bob spoke up.

"Miriam doesn't have anywhere to go, Olga…"

"Helga!

"Whatever. Miriam doesn't have anywhere to go. Her parents won't take her in, and she doesn't have the money to afford a motel. We all decided that she should stay with us. Now, you don't have to like it, but you will show and treat your mother with respect, otherwise, we're going to have some problems."

Helga scowled at her father. After a while, she shrugged.

"That's nice, but unlike you and Olga, I haven't forgotten what Miriam did. Now, if you'll excuse me, Bob, I need to take a shower."

Helga moved out of the living room, up the stairs, to her bedroom. Grabbing a pair on pink sweat pants and a black tank top, she made her way into the upstairs bathroom.

Twenty minutes later, Helga was done with her shower, dressed, and lying on her bed. Her long wet hair was pulled up into a pony tail, and she was watching television, when suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Helga grabbed the remote, muted the TV, got off her bed, and opened her bedroom door.

There stood Miriam.

"And just what the hell do you want?" Helga asked calmly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I wanted to talk to you, sweetie. I wanted to see how you were doing," her mother responded.

Helga rolled her eyes.

"That's nice, now go away!" She moved to close the door, but her mother pushed herself forward and got in the way. Miriam had to talk to Helga, had to make her see that despite what happened, she still loved her.

"Helga, I know you're mad at me, and you have every right to be. I left you when you were so young, but I'm trying to make up for that. If you could give me a chance, I want to show you that I deeply regret what I did and…"

"You know something, Miriam? It's funny that you say you know I'm mad at you, because you have no idea what I'm going through, you had no idea what I went through after you left. You want me to give you a chance, awesome. It's just too bad that you destroyed all chances of that when you left, and then, you decide not to call us for six months. How do you think that made me feel Miriam, HUH?! How do you think that made me feel? You'll never know! I don't even know why you're here, or how long you're staying, but as far as I'm concerned, you have no right to be here. You can't just decide you don't want to be a parent, leave your children, and then come back ten years later, and act like everything is ok again, it doesn't work that way! Now, if you'll excuse me!"

And Helga grabbed the door, and slammed it shut, leaving Miriam to stare hopelessly at it.

The older woman dragged her feet back into her bedroom.

She knew that Helga would be mad, but she didn't think her little girl would be this mad. Helga was furious, and Miriam could see the hate, the hurt, the betrayal and the anger in her youngest daughter's eyes.

However, Miriam could not blame Helga. She had no right to blame her. Miriam was the one who left, dropped all contact with her family for six whole months. When she did leave, she didn't tell her family where she was going, or what she was doing.

Perhaps Miriam really needed to understand the hell she put her family through.

And hopefully, Helga would give her a chance to understand why she left.

That's it for chapter four! I want to thank my reviewers once again. Waking up to four reviews, seriously? Best. Morning. Ever.

Read and review!


	5. Chapter 5: A Day at Work

And here is chapter five! If I'm lucky/motivated/in the mood to do so, I may have chapters 6 and 7 up and running before school starts. If not, well, you'll have five chapters to tide you guys over. When school does start, I won't be able to update as much as I would like. On the plus side though, this is my last semester at the university before I graduate with a BA!

By the way, two characters make an appearance in this chapter

Review Responses:

Nep2uune

Yes, Olga would be the one to forgive Miriam so easily. I think that's just how Olga is; she isn't the type of person to hold grudges (unlike Helga).

And it is more than likely that Olga knew exactly what was in those smoothies. I'm guessing the reason she didn't say anything, was because she didn't want to face the reality of the situation.

As for Helga listening to her mom, she may or she may not. I don't want to say for sure, because if I do, I'll give too much away.

acosta perez jose Ramiro

Thank you very much for your reviews!

Chapter Five: A Day At work

"So that's one Very Berry Tornado, one pizza stick, and one cup of tomato soup? Your total is $12.95, and your order will be out shortly. Thank you for coming to Tony's Smoothie Shop and Café!"

And Helga's smile disappeared from her face. Looking at the clock on the register screen, she sighed deeply.

'Greaaaat,' she thought, 'Only six more hours to go."

"Here's your order sir," Helga heard Lila, "I ever so hope you enjoy it!"

Both Lila and Helga had worked at the same store, but Helga had gotten the job a few months after Lila did.

At first, Helga wasn't too keen on working with Lila. However, after a year of working here, it wasn't so bad. Lila was friendly towards Helga, the way she usually was with everyone, and Helga tolerated little miss perfect, as well. A few times in the past, their boss had scheduled them both to close the store.

Helga just wanted the day to be over. She hoped with everything she had her boss didn't schedule her over time. Sure, she got paid over time, but she really did not want to count numerous boxes of frozen strawberries that night.

Suddenly, the bell on the door jingled. Time for smiles and cheer again!

"Hello! Welcome to Tony's Smoothie Shop and Café! How may I take your ord...oh. Hey, Football Head."

It was Arnold, and Gerald was with him.

Helga had never gotten over her crush on Arnold. They've know each other for over ten years, and she was still madly in love with him.

"Hey Helga,"Arnold said, smiling, "How's it going?" Helga shrugged.

"It's going. You know how it is, Arnoldo. I stand here, I take orders, I count frozen fruit, and then I go home. Yup, this is what life's all about."

"Oh, well that's not very fun. I'm sure something exciting happens for you Helga."

Helga rolled her eyes.

"Well, as a matter of fact, Football Head, something did happen, but exciting is not the word I would use. Miriam came home a couple of days ago."

Arnold's eyes widened so largely, Helga could have sworn they were covering his entire face.

"Rea…really? What happened? "

"Beats me, Arnold. I came home from the JC to find her sitting on our living room couch."

"Did you talk to her?"

"Yes. I hugged her and we danced around all merrily and shit. No, I did NOT talk to her, Football Head! I want nothing to do with Miriam, and the sooner she's out of life, once again, the better."

"Whatever you say, Helga."

"Damn right! Whatever I say! Now, you gonna order, or what?"

Arnold gave Helga his order, and Gerald did as well. After a few minutes, the two boys left the store.

As they walked towards the park, Arnold's mind was completely on Helga, and the situation she was in. So many questions were running through his head: why did Miriam leave? Why did she drop six months of contact with her family after she left? Why didn't she tell anyone where she was going? How did she find her way back to Hillwood? Why did she come back to Hillwood? Will Helga ever talk to her mom?

"What are you thinking about?" Gerald noticed that Arnold had that lost-in-deep-thought look on his face.

"I don't know Gerald. Miriam leaving messed Helga up pretty badly. Now, all of a sudden she returns. I know Helga's angry and hurt, but I think it would do them both some good if Helga heard her mom out."

"Man, you're actually thinking about that? Listen, this is Helga G. Pataki we're talking about. If she doesn't want to talk to her mom, then she's not going to talk to her mom. And it's none of our business, anyway!"

Arnold sighed.

"Maybe you're right Gerald. I just feel so bad."

"Yep, the whole thing sucks, I will admit that."

Gerald was more than right. The whole thing did suck.

And there you have it! Chapter five. I hope it wasn't too bad, I literally am uploading this at 4 in the morning _ !

I'm enjoying all of reviews! If there are any improvement that need to be made, please let me know!


	6. Chapter 6: Up All Night-ReUploaded

Here is chapter six. The idea I had for this was so random, but whatever.

Review Responses:

Nep2uune

Helga will only be telling a few select people. Those people are obviously Phoebe, Arnold and Gerald (through Arnold). Basically, only the people she feels she can trust know about Miriam's return.

As for Helga being mean to Arnold, I wanted to have some of the Helga from the show shine through. However, in this story, she's not as much of a bully to him as she was when she was nine, the whole Arnoldo and Football Head nicknames just stuck. And yes, Helga is a lot like her father. Hell, she looks like him!

acosta perez jose ramiro

Thank you very much!

Chapter Six: Up All Night.

"There was a time when women were oppressed, manipulated, and controlled. However, Susan B. Anthony, an amazing woman who lived during the Women's Suffrage Movement, helped to change all of that, and destroy the nightmare that women faced."

It was 11 o'clock at night, and Helga had just started her history report. The topic? Pick a historical figure, and give a ten-paged report about them. Cover their biography, what kind of person they were, the contributions they made to society, and why they were important.

Helga stared at the large stack of books she had checked out from the library on Susan. Her report was due in two days, and she had received the assignment last week. It usually wasn't like Helga to start such a large paper so late.

"Susan B. Anthony was born on February 15, 1820, in Adams, MA to Daniel and Lucy Anthony," Helga spoke as she typed.

A knock on the door interrupted her from her thoughts on her report.

"Helga!" It was Miriam.

'Don't respond,' Helga thought, 'don't respond, and maybe she will go away!'

"Helga, sweetie! Are you alright? You've been in your room for so long, you didn't even come down for dinner. Is everything ok in there?"

'Don't answer her.'

"Helga?"

"HELGA! WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT SHOWING YOUR MOTHER RESPECT?! ANSWER HER THIS INSTANT!"

"I'm fine, _Miriam_!" Helga growled through clenched teeth.

"HELGA!"

"CRIMINY BOB, I ANSWERED HER! Fucking blow hard!" She uttered the last few words under her breaths so one could hear them.

Helga listened for her mother's footsteps to leave, before going back to her report.

Two hours had passed, and Helga had written only one page of that ten paged paper.

Her thoughts were locked on the events that has taken place. She was angry, no, furious with Miriam but something…

Helga would never admit it out loud, but deep down, she wanted to talk to Miriam. She wanted to ask her what was so horrible and damaging that she had to leave for ten years.

And she wondered, what kind of answer would her mother give her? Would she even have an answer?

And why were Bob and Olga so willing to forgive Miriam? How is it even possible to forgive a mother and a wife who just walked out on her family, without giving an explanation? Was it possible that they knew something she didn't? And if so, what was it, and why were they keeping it from her?

Helga decided to take a break from her report, and go have a cigarette. The nicotine would provide some much needed stimulation. After all, she was going to up all night.

And there you go, chapter six. I start school tomorrow, so updates will be very scarce, but I will do what I can.

Also, I'm very sorry that this story is going so slow. I have so many plans for it, that I need to narrow them down, and I don't want to have too much happen, too soon.

Read and review please, and thank you very much!


	7. Chapter 7: Of Miriam

Chapter Seven Title: Of Miriam.

Managed to upload this as fast as I could. School hasn't taken over too much quite yet, but come next week and oh dear god….

Review Responses:

Nairobi-Harper

Thank you very much for your review. Bob and Olga _might _just know something Helga doesn't, but no one is going to know that until much later ;).

acosta perez jose ramiro

Thank you very much for the review.

Remember, there are many ways to be disrespectful to someone. Helga may not have insulted her mother directly, but she also refused to acknowledge Miriam when she tried to talk to her. Not hearing someone because you're off in a daze is one thing, but blatantly ignoring them is a whole different story.

Miriam sat on the couch, coffee up in one hand, watching television. Her husband and youngest daughter were away at work, and wouldn't be home until much later that night. Her oldest daughter had the day off from her job, and was busy folding the laundry. Later, she would help her mother with tonight's dinner.

Miriam sighed as she leaned her head back against the cushion.

She didn't even announce her return to the Pataki household, she just showed on the doorstep, and rang the doorbell.

The first person to answer was her husband. Miriam still remembered the look of shock and disbelief, as if he were seeing a ghost.

Her daughter Olga was the first person to hug her mother tightly, exclaiming her happiness at Miriam being back. Bob, however, gave his estranged wife the most awkward of hugs.

And Helga? Helga was the one Miriam wanted to see the most. She did not expect her daughter to be happy with her.

But, the hate filled eyes, the betrayal laden words? The atrocious anger? Miriam was not prepared for that. She was not prepared to face the intense anger her daughter had towards her.

Still, Miriam _had _to talk to Helga, HAD to explain why she left.

She was afraid though, afraid that Helga would not like the reason.

Miriam herself wasn't sure of the reason. The day she left, she was more than sure of herself that she was doing the right thing for herself. Now? Now she wasn't so sure. Was it the right thing? Despite her reasons, she could have at least told her family where she was going and why she was leaving, but she didn't.

In all honesty, it was too painful for Miriam to face her family to give them the reasons they deserved. To her, it was much easier to pack her bags and vanish like a ghost. Then again, sometimes the easy way was the coward's way out.

She remembered the first phone call she made to the family, after six months of no contact. Her husband had picked up, and instantly started to bombard her with questions: where was she? Why did she leave? When was she coming home?

She remembered the phone call she received from her parents, when Olga had informed them she was missing, and when they finally found out what Miriam had done. Her mother had called her cruel and selfish, the "bane of her very existence," an "irresponsible mother," and "I simply cannot believe you would so willingly shirk your responsibilities to your husband and children like that."

She remembered her first phone conversation with Olga since she left. Her oldest daughter didn't seem to bear any resentment towards her mother, instead asking the much older woman how she was doing, and hoping she was happy wherever she was.

She remembered her attempt to have a conversation with Helga. Miriam had requested to talk to her youngest daughter, and heard Olga calling to her little sister. Within seconds, there was the tone that indicated that the phone had been hung up. Miriam knew exactly who was responsible for that.

Miriam ran a hand through her hair, and wore a sad look on her face.

'This wasn't supposed to happen!' She thought desperately, 'It wasn't supposed to go like this!'

Then, she remembered the words she uttered to her husband: did you really expect it to go any other way?

As much as Miriam wanted to live in denial, wait it out until Helga forgave her, she knew she couldn't do that. To do so would be adding insult to injury. She owed Helga an explanation, and she would make sure that her youngest heard her out, and got the explanation she deserved.

She just had to figure out how she would do it.

And that's chapter Seven! Now, this is where you guys come in:

What should be the reason Miriam left? I want you guys to give me ideas in your reviews. Whichever one I think is best (no, that doesn't mean I won't like any of them. I love hearing from you guys), will be used in the story, but not until much later.

How should Miriam tell Helga? Letter? Face to Face? Or, should Helga somehow find out on her own? If so, how should she find out?

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing. Keep them coming, as I look forward to hearing what you all have to say!


	8. Chapter 8: Of Bob

I had an idea that came to me after writing chapter seven. For eight, nine and ten, I'm going to be telling the views of each person of the Pataki Family, their thoughts on Miriam leaving. Not only will I be doing that, but each family member is going to give a hint (but not a very big one) as to why Miriam left.

In all honesty, I think we will all find out the reason why Miriam left somewhere in a later chapter, I just don't know which one.

So, first up was Miriam. This chapter is going to be centered on Bob, next one Olga. I could do Helga, but I felt as if her feelings on the issue are already known. So, I will be doing Helga having a flashback, or a nightmare, that tells the story of the day Miriam left.

Review Responses:

Nairobi-Harper

You stayed up three hours past your bedtime to read chapter seven? Damn, that's dedication right there! Thank you very much!

You might just be right when you say that Miriam may be hiding something. Her issue though, is that she doesn't know how to explain it to Helga.

Nep2uune

Thank you very much for the review.

Yes, Miriam leaving and then coming back ten years later is very hard to believe. Obviously, this story is AU, and was written with the idea of what if Miriam was never in the show, because she had left her family.

Miriam didn't expect to be greeted with open arms, and she did expect Helga to be angry with her. However, she didn't expect Helga to be that angry, if you know what I mean. Which, yes, does in a way represent a lot of naiveté in Miriam.

acosta perez jose ramiro

I'm still trying to figure out how Miriam will tell Helga, or another way that Helga finds out.

And I think that Arnold either acting as a mediator, or speaking to Helga would be a good idea!

Chapter Eight: Of Bob.

Big Bob Pataki looked down at his estranged wife's sleeping face, her loud snores echoed throughout the room.

He then looked at the digital clock that sat on the surface of his bedside table, right next to a bottle of beer. The clock read 1 AM.

Bob grunted in annoyance. He had to be at work in five hours, and he just couldn't sleep.

One might think that Miriam's loud snoring was keeping the brutal business man awake, but that wasn't the case.

Rather, Bob was remembering the day Miriam left, as well as the events that led up to her unexpected departure.

A week before Miriam had packed her bags, she and her husband had had a very heated argument. It was so heated, that even Big Bob Pataki had tried to erase it from his mind. He didn't remember much, other than some very hateful words had been shoved back and forth between husband and wife.

"_Well, Miriam, maybe if you weren't so damn lazy, everything would be better in this marriage!_"

"_Don't you dare try and blame the problems of this marriage on me, B! You have a lot to answer for, but you're too much of a stubborn blow hard to admit it!"_

"_Oh, give me a break, Miriam! You have no right to run your mouth off to me! I work for this family! I bring in the money! I put the food on the table! I pay the goddamn bills! And for that, I demand to be shown a little respect around this household! You don't do anything! All you do is mope around the house, and complain about every little fucking thing! WELL I'M FUCKING SICK AND TIRED OF IT!"_

_"Oh, and I suppose raising two children practically by myself takes no effort whatsoever!?"_

_"That's it! I've had it up to HERE WITH YOU MIRIAM! I'm not going to stand here and listen to you mouth off to me ANY LONGER!" _

The fight had continued on for several hours. Husband and wife called each other brutal names. Plates were being tossed out of the kitchen cabinet, and smashed onto the floor. After the damage was done, Miriam had told her husband that she would see to it that some changes would be made, and then walked away to their bedroom in tears._  
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Bob didn't remember much after that. Miriam had walked off to bed in tears, and he had decided to watch his favorite game show.

He had to wonder though, what Miriam meant by changes? Did she have something planned that he didn't know about? He tried not to think about these thoughts, instead opting to squash them into the dusty recesses his mind, and just watched the game show.

The day after, it was as if nothing ever happened. In the Pataki family, things were swept under the rug. After an argument, everyone went about their usual business, and no one spoke a word of it anymore.

Then, one week later, Miriam left. Bob called Miriam on her cell phone, blowing it up with text messages and voice-mails, asking her where the hell she was. There was never any response from his wife.

Eventually, he called the police. But because Miriam had only been missing for a few hours, they couldn't do anything about it. However, they promised to keep an eye out for the woman, and tell her that her husband was looking for her.

Bob started to tell himself that she was probably at the bar with some friends, and return home much later that night, maybe even in the morning.

Then, he found something that slammed into his very gut, hard. All of Miriam's suitcases, as well as over half her side of the closet was missing.

That is when Bob started to worry. Did Miriam leave? Why didn't she tell him? Was she ok? He continued to blow up her phone even more.

After about three days, the truth sunk in. His wife had left him and their children. There was no note explaining what was going on, just an empty space in their closet.

Six months later, he had gotten a call from an unknown number. When he answered the call, a voice came out from the other end. It was Miriam!

Bob wasted no time in bombarding his wife with questions.

"For crying out loud, Miriam! What the hell is the big idea just running off like that? Now, I want to know right now, why did you just leave?"

When Miriam told Bob why she had left, his heart sank.

"So…so that's the reason you packed your bags and left? Well, uhm…are you….are you ever going to return home to us?"

Miriam merely said that she did not know when or if she was going to return home, and then hung up the phone.

After that, he and Miriam continued to make calls to each other. Both husband and wife tried to remain friendly and civil to each other, but it was very strained.

When Miriam told him the second reason why she left, his heart sank even deeper. In fact, Bob could have sworn he saw it on the floor of their bedroom.

"I never expected…_that _coming from you, Miriam. I…I don't want to talk about it. I SAID I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT, GODDAMNIT! YOU DROPPED A HUGE BOMB ON ME AND THE KIDS! DAMNIT, MIRIAM!"

When she came back home, after ten years, he was shocked. Seeing his wife stand there at the door was like seeing a ghost. At first, Bob was speechless, but then moved away slowly, so that his wife could enter the house.

That was when Olga gave a loud squeal of happiness, running up to her mother and giving the woman a gigantic hug.

Bob, however, was stunned. What about those phone calls? What about what Miriam told him? Why was she back, all of a sudden? What made her come back?

As he was looking at his wife, as if trying to figure out if this was all a dream, he heard his oldest daughter tell Miriam that she had a lot of explaining to do, for Helga's sake.

And that's chapter seven. I'm really sorry if this was like, the worst chapter I've ever written of all time. However, like I said, I wanted to portray the memories of the other Pataki members on why Miriam left. I also left some clues as to why she may have left. I did say that I wanted you guys to give me ideas, but I am also thinking of ideas as well. I have one, but I'm not going to tell you what it is.

Also, sorry if Bob was slightly out of character. I'm still working on that. I might even redo this chapter, depending on what you guys say.

Next up is chapter nine!


	9. Chapter 9: Of Olga

And here is chapter nine, with Olga's point of view.

Review Responses:

Nairobi-Harper

Thank you very much for your review!

Yes, Bob may be a bit of a prick at times, but he is still a human being who does have feelings. Let's take his relationship with Helga, for example. Although he barely relates to her, there have a few episodes (Arnold's Halloween, Quantity Time, Arnold's Thanksgiving and Save the Tree [or was it Mighty Pete?] where he shows that he does, in fact, care very deeply about his youngest daughter's well-being.

Nep2uune

Thank you very much for the review.

I wanted to have Bob be way harsher, but I was afraid that I would have him get too emotional, and then I would have given the reason why Miriam left away.

Also, there is a reason why Bob decided not to go after her, but you'll find that out later (besides the fact that she never told him her exact location)

acosta perez jose ramiro

Thanks a lot for your review.

The only reason why Bob is accepting of the issue, is because of two reasons: one- she never tells him where her exact location (reasons for that will be revealed later) and two-there's not much he could have done about it. There is a third reason, but that will be revealed in a few chapters.

Olga Pataki pulled her blonde hair back into a small pony tail, yellow rubber gloves adorned her hands, as she prepared to wash the dishes.

As she scrapped bits of meat and potatoes off of the white plates, her thoughts wandered off to the subject of her mother.

'Mommy really made daddy worry so horribly!' She thought as she began to remember the day Miriam left.

At first, Olga didn't think much of it. She simply believed that her mother was off somewhere with friends, which was exactly what she told her father. Bob kept muttering what Olga suggested to him like a mantra, but it did nothing to soothe his sky-rocketing nerves.

Even Helga had asked what was going on, but neither her older sister not father had answer. Bob chose not to respond, but Olga simply rubbed the girl's head and told her not to worry about a thing.

In reality, Olga was scared, scared and worried. But, she had to remain positive and hopeful for her family that everything was ok, that Miriam was ok.

Even when Bob discovered the missing clothes and suitcases, she still didn't lose hope.

"Perhaps mother is taking a vacation, father. I'm sure she will contact is within no time, and she will tell us that she is just fine, and will be home shortly." She had said, trying to appease her stony faced father.

However, such a call did not come. Every time the phone rang, her father would practically pounce on it, only to look and sound highly frustrated when it wasn't his wife.

After three months of this, Olga had informed her father that she would be coming to live with them, to help out around the house in Miriam's absence. At first, Bob refused, telling the girl that he was taking care of things just fine, and didn't want Olga to burden herself. But, after days of coaxing and prodding, Bob finally agreed.

Three months after that, the Pataki house phone had rang. Bob nearly ripped it off the receiver when he picked it up, and Olga remembered hiding at the top of the stairs, listening to the conversation.

To her great and utter joy, it was her mother! She had finally contacted them! Olga wanted to run down, and take the phone from her father's hands. She wanted to tell her mother how much she missed her, she just wanted to talk to her.

Then, what Bob uttered next made Olga's widen in both confusion and concern.

"So…so that's the reason you packed your bags and left? Well, uhm…are you….are you ever going to return home to us?"

Olga may have been the bearer of positivity in her home, but even she had to wonder just what her father was talking about. When she dared to ask him, he brushed her off harshly.

That seriously alarmed Olga. Her father was never short with her, ever. She was his darling little Olga, his little winner, and the pride of the Pataki family. So, when he brushed her off so gruffly, she became even more worried than she already was.

However, she decided to not press the issue, and continued on with her life.

After a few weeks, Miriam called again, and told Bob the second reason why she left. Bob's following answer made Olga's mind go into a frenzy!

""I never expected…_that _coming from you, Miriam. I…I don't want to talk about it. I SAID I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT, GODDAMNIT! YOU DROPPED A HUGE BOMB ON ME AND THE KIDS! DAMNIT, MIRIAM!"

What did her father not expect from Miriam? What was this all about? Olga wanted to find out, desperately.

And so, she decided to take matters into her own hands. Looking up the Calls List made on their phone, she found the number her mother had used to contact them, and dialed it.

To Olga's delight, her mother sounded genuinely happy to hear from her first born, and immediately started asking her oldest daughter questions about how everyone was doing.

Olga answered all of her mother's questions, but she knew she had to ask Miriam that one question that plagued her mind.

"Mother, I have to ask you. Why did you leave so suddenly like that?"

There was a large pause.

"Well, I guess I'll have to explain myself to you Olga. However, before I start please know that I still love you and Helga dearly. I left because…"

And Olga listened to her mother pour out her reasons for leaving.

Her father was right, this was not something she would ever expect from her mother. Olga could feel tears leak from her eyes, but had masked the tremor in her voice.

"I…see. Thank you…thank you much for telling me. No mother, I'm not mad. I'm just…I'm just very surprised. I just wish you could have told us that you were leaving, or at least didn't wait so long to contact us. I'm just glad that you're happy and…I just want you to know that I miss, you very much.

"I miss you too, honey."

After that the phone conversation ended.

Both Olga and her father had silently agreed to not tell Helga. Bob didn't even want to talk about Miriam from his last phone call with her, and Olga decided that right now wasn't a good time for Helga to find out the truth.

No, that's not right. She could have told Helga, and she wanted to tell Helga, but she didn't.

She believed that it was her mother's responsibility, not hers, to give an explanation to her youngest daughter. Olga felt no resentment towards her mother, but Miriam was the one who caused this entire mess in the first place. Even Olga had to admit that.

When her mother had finally come home after ten years, it was the happiest Olga had ever been.

The smile on her mother's face fell however, when Olga told her that she owed Helga an explanation.

And that's chapter nine. So, yes, as a matter of fact, both Bob and Olga know something that Helga doesn't. However, they both decide not to tell her, I gave the reasons in this chapter.

Up next, Helga has a nightmare about the day her mom left.


	10. Chapter 10: Of Helga

Here is chapter six, which half of was written in class. I know I shouldn't be doing this, but it's a three hour class, and I need to be doing something that keeps me from going crazy.

In this chapter, Helga has a nightmare about her mother.

Review Responses:

acosta perez jose ramiro

Thank you very much for the review!

Well, Olga is the one who usually thinks everything is sunshine and lovely, so when she's worried, chances are something is wrong!

Nep2uune

I really appreciate your review!

The only reason why Bob didn't tell Helga, was because he didn't even want to discuss it. Bob is the type of person who likes to sweep things under the rug. Remember how angry he was when Helga said her school requested that she see a therapist (Helga on the Couch)?

Also, I think I depicted in chapter eight that Bob was not only shocked, but possibly very angry with Miriam and the mess she caused (after all, this entire thing, although made up, is her fault). Bob was thinking that Miriam caused it, so she should be the one to fix it.

Nairobi-Harper

Thank you very much for the review!

All will be revealed soon. You'll just have to keep reading to find out.

Chapter Ten: Of Helga

A little girl in a pink dress and blonde pigtails roamed through a house that was not her own, and the endless hallways made the structure seem like an endless maze. The hallways were dark, and scattered torches shrouded the maze in the dimmest of lights.

'Where am I?' She thought, 'What's going on? What is this place?'

She looked at the walls on either side of her, as she continued to walk down the dimly lit hallway, wearing a cloak of confusion on her fair face.

"Hello?" She called out, "Is anyone here?"

There was no answer.

"Would somebody please tell me where I am?"

The little girl was only greeted with silence.

However, she had the strangest feeling that she was being watched. She felt that there was someone following her, but every time she turned around, there was nobody there. There never was.

She made her way to the end of the hall, and turned, only to come across one just like it.

Except, instead of blank walls, there were wooden doors. Wooden doors that lined both sides of the dimly lit walls.

The doors looked just like the front door at her house. But, why was that? Did this mean something?

The little girl felt a chill go up her spine. Shivering, she wrapped her arms around her tiny frame. She no longer wanted to be here. She had to get out of here.

Suddenly, she heard a woman's voice. It was muffled, and she couldn't quite make it out.

"Who's there?" the little girl shouted, "Show yourself!"

More muffled voices came, except this time, it was a man's voice. The two voices merged into one. It was loud and deafening, like static. She could hear them, but she could not understand.

The static voices called louder and louder, until their echoes bounced off the stone walls.

"Who are you? Where are you?" The little girl shouted even louder this time.

Suddenly, one of the doors opened, and a figure stepped out. The little girl was abruptly blinded by a flash of white light, but she could faintly make out the figure of a woman. She watched with squinted eyes as she listened to the figure's footsteps slowly, yet sharply walk out of the room from where they came

Then, the figure stepped into the dimly lit hallway. It was the little girl's mother! And she was carrying two suitcases.

"Mom!" The little girl answered, but the woman didn't hear her. She kept on walking. Lost in a trance was she, as if some force was pulling her forward.

"Mom, it's me Helga!" The little girl reached out a tiny hand started running towards her mother. But, the closer the little girl got, the farther away her mother got.

'Why can't she hear me?!' The child thought frantically, 'What is going on? WHY CAN'T SHE HEAR ME?!'

All of a sudden, the entire maze began to shake, and low rumble sounded throughout the halls. The little girl stopped and trembled.

Frozen in her place, her looked at the walls. They….looked like they were getting closer.

To her horror, the walls were getting closer…they were moving in on her!

The will to survive suddenly kicked in, and she ran. She ran towards her mother, who was miles ahead of her.

"MOM!" The little girl screamed in terror, "MOM! IT'S ME, HELGA! MOM, I NEED HELP! I NEED YOU!"

She looked on all sides of her as she continued running. The walls were getting closer! She was going to be crushed she was sure of it.

No! She wouldn't let that happen. She would reach her mother, and they would both get out of this horrible place, together.

To her delight, and tears running down her face, she found herself getting closer and closer to her mother.

The little girl grabbed the woman's arm, and the woman stopped.

"Mom," she said in a frenzied manner, "Mom, it's me Helga! Look, you've got to listen to me. The walls are going to crush us both. We've got to get out of here!"

She yanked as hard as she could on the woman's arm, but the woman would not budge.

"Mom?! What the heck are you doing? We have to get out of here, now!"

There was no response, no movement.

"Mom! Mom, snap out of it!"

The woman's head then slowly began to turn. When it came all the way, the little girl gasped in horror.

Where a face should have been, there was nothing.

The woman yanked her arm back from the little girl, turned around and kept walking, until she reached a wall. The woman walked right through it, as if it were never there.

The little girl ran towards the wall, and started to pound on it viciously.

"Help me! Somebody please, help me!"

She looked behind her to see another wall, edging closer and closer at an alarming rate.

With a gulp, she put both hands on the stone wall in front of her and began to push with all her might.

"Mom! You can't leave me here! Where are you! Mom, please! I need help! Mom! Mom! Mom!"

She heard a low growling sound. She whirled around to see the wall, inches away from her. The stone mammoth loomed over her like a dark ghost.

She screamed before everything went black.

19 year old Helga Pataki shrieked as she jolted out of bed, breathing hard and heavy. Her night clothes were drenched with sweat, and her long blonde hair stuck to her cheeks and forehead.

She continued to breath, with her hand over her heart.

"It's ok," she said in attempt to calm herself, "It's all ok. You just had a bad dream."

She fell back on her pillow, trying to go back to sleep.

But sleep for 19 year old Helga Pataki never came.

Chapter nine is done! Thank you so much to my reviewers, who are the most awesome people ever!

So, I have no idea what chapter 11 is going to be about. Helga doesn't find out the reason why Miriam left. I'm still working on that.

Chapter 11 will hopefully be up by this weekend.

Hope to hear from you guys!


	11. Chapter 11: Helga vs Arnold

Review Responses:

Nep2uune

Thank you very much for your review.

Helga actually did have nightmares after Miriam left. This isn't the first time she's had this nightmare, but it still hits her every time because of what everything symbolizes.

However, Helga never complained about her nightmares, because that doesn't sound like something she would do.

acosta perez jose ramiro

Thank you very much.

Originally, I was going to have Helga's nightmare be exactly about the day Miriam left (Bob freaking out, Olga trying to keep everyone calm and Helga just being all wth is going on here?). However, then I wanted to do a nightmare that actually symbolized how Helga felt about the whole situation.

Nairobi-Harper

Thank you.

And yes, Helga doesn't seem like the type to have nightmares. However, in this story she does.

Also, I think it would be natural for a child who's mother just left out of the blue to have nightmares.

So, if you don't want to read this part, you can skip right to the chapter, but I kind of want to share with you guys the symbolism of Helga's nightmare.

The hall way maze: this symbolizes Helga's initial confusion when her mother left. She doesn't go what's going on, and she doesn't know what to do.

The voices: Obviously, this is Bob and Miriam. The voices were supposed to depict the fight they had before Miriam packed her bags and left. However, the reason why Helga couldn't understand it, is because she wasn't present for the actual fight when it took place.

Miriam walking away and not answering Helga when she calls out to her: This symbolizes Miriam not being there for Helga, in other words, not being the mom Helga needed her to be.

Miriam having no face: I put this in the nightmare, not only because that would freak anybody out, but the Miriam having no face thing was supposed symbolize Miriam leaving (if that makes any sense).

I'll try to explain it this way: Miriam's face not being there, symbolizes Miriam being gone.

The front doors of Helga's house on the walls before she sees her mother: This symbolizes an issue that Helga has been dealing with.

The walls closing in on Helga: symbolizes how she felt when she found out her mom had left her and wasn't coming back. The walls symbolize Helga's own helplessness in the matter.

With that said, here is chapter 11.

Chapter 11: Helga vs. Arnold

Helga Pataki slammed her book bag down on a table in the JC library. Her first class, American History 1435, had been canceled, and she had a good few hours before her second class started.

Of course, she was contemplating not even bothering going to that. The teacher didn't care if students didn't show up, anyway.

Plus, she could use that time to do…whatever the hell she wanted to do.

"Hey Helga."

She looked up to see Arnold.

"What's up, Football Head?"

Arnold scratched his head.

"Uhm, well…I was just seeing how you were doing."

Helga shrugged.

"I'm doin'Arnold."

Really what else was she supposed to say? She didn't get any sleep last night because of that god-awful nightmare, but she wasn't about to tell him that.

She hated pity, and hated it more when people had it for her.

"Well…that's good to hear. Actually, I wanted to talk to…ask you about something."

"If it's about Miriam, then keep walking."

"It is about your mother."

"Goddamnit."

Not even waiting for Helga to continue with wherever she was going, Arnold pulled out a seat, and sat down across from the fiery blonde. Helga could see that Arnold wouldn't take no for an answer, so she merely scowled, her way of indicating for him to make his point and move on.

"Listen Helga, I don't know why you're mom left. I don't know what her reasons are, and I do think you have every right to be angry with her…"

"What's your point?"

"My point is, would it be so bad if you just talked to Miriam and find out why she left? Don't you think if you had some answers, you'd be at peace somehow?"

Helga sighed. She didn't expect Arnold to understand, but she would tell him anyway.

"Look, Arnold. I've told you this before, I do. Not. Want. To. Talk. To. Miriam. Period. She didn't have the time for me for the first nine years of my life, and she abandoned me for ten. Why should I give her even five minutes? Miriam was never there for me, and now she wants to come back and try and make everything better? She's ten years too late, Arnold. The damage is done."

"Helga, listen…."

At this, Helga stood up, slamming her hands down on the table, a venomous look on her face.

"No, you listen! I understand you're just looking out for me, but don't. You don't get it, Arnold, you don't get how I feel."

"Actually, I do Helga, because in case you've forgotten, I grew up without my parents," this time it was Arnold's turn to stand up, angrily, "So don't try and tell me that I don't know how that feels."

"No, Football Head, you DON'T know how I feel. Your parents left to help people who were getting sick. You KNEW why your parents left. Furthermore, you have your parents in your life (1). Sure, they may not be here right at this moment, but they still come and visit you. They still keep in contact with you. You don't know what it feels like to be in my position. You don't know how it feels to have a dad that doesn't even know you exist, or what it's like to have a mom who constantly neglects you. You don't know what it's like to have a mom that just leaves without telling you where she is, or where she's going. So don't YOU try and TELL me that you get it, when you OBVIOUSLY HAVE NO FUCKING IDEA!"

With that, Helga grabbed her book and stormed off.

Arnold merely shook his head as he watched her walk away.

'Oh Helga,' he thought, 'You're right. I don't know how you feel, and I'm sorry for assuming that I do. But I do know that if you don't talk to Miriam, your anger will eat you alive."

Notes:

(1): This story is supposed to take place much later after Hey Arnold: The Jungle Movie. Why Nick never made this, I'll never know. The concept for the movie exists, but the movie does not. Arnold was supposed to find his parents. They are mentioned in this story, but they will not be making any appearances.

Chapter 11 is done. I think there will be at least…three or four more chapters after this. Maybe five or six.

The last few chapters will be the buildup, where you will all finally find out the reason Miriam left.

Also, if Arnold was out of character, I'm very sorry for that. He's going to be in future chapters, so hopefully my skills will improve.

Thank you for reading, and please review!


	12. Chapter 12: POV of Arnold

Chapter 12: POV of Arnold

Review Responses:

Nep2uune

Thank you for your review.

Ugh, maturity is such a weird word to me. There are so many different meanings to it.

For example, you could be mature in the sense that you are financially independent, but you can still be immature in other ways.

Anyway, Helga has matured a little bit, but in many ways she is still the same.

Remember, Helga did suffer years of neglect from her family. Her family barely noticed she existed, her mother was a depressed alcoholic, and her older sister was blind to the obvious damage that was going around in the Pataki household.

Which brings me to Helga's outburst when she mentions her family. Although Arnold's parents left, they didn't do it for selfish reasons, they didn't do it because they were too engrossed in their own lives, they did it to help a village of people (refer to The Journal episodes). Helga's family is engrossed in themselves and their everyday lives to even notice if she's breathing. Sure, they love her, and there have been episodes that depict that her family truly does care about her, but most of the time they just ignore her. Helga's whole point to Arnold was to tell him that he really doesn't know how she feels, because he's never been in the exact same situation.

acosta perez jose ramiro

Thank you very much for the review.

I explained my reasons for Helga's outburst to Nep2uune.

Arnold was raised in a very nurturing (sometimes wacky) and loving environment, whereas Helga wasn't.

Nairobi-Harper

Thank you very much for reviewing.

And yes, Arnold's damned optimism got to him. And guess what, it's going to get to him even more! MUWAHAHAHAHA! I WILL SHOVE ARNOLD OPTIMISM INTO YOUR BRAINS! MUAHAHAHA!

Sorry.

No, but seriously, Arnold's optimistic self isn't done with Helga just yet. Exactly what he plans to do, I won't tell.

However, here is what I can tell you: this chapter is all about Arnold's perspective on the situation. He has to get involved. Because Arnold.

Chapter Twelve: From Arnold's POV.

Arnold laid back on the lawn chair on the roof of the boarding house, staring at the night sky. His hands were folded behind his head, and one leg was crossed over the other.

How long had it been since he had that confrontation with Helga? A few hours, perhaps? He sighed as he remembered one of the things that Helga has screamed to him. In fact, he could even hear her saying it all over again.

_"You don't know what it feels like to be in my position. You don't know how it feels to have a dad that doesn't even know you exist, or what it's like to have a mom who constantly neglects you."_

Arnold had to admit that Helga had a valid point. While he was very lonely without his parents, they had left because of their jobs, whereas Helga's parents barely acknowledged her existence because they were too engrossed in their own lives.

He was raised in a loving, caring and nurturing environment, where has the fiery blonde had to fend for herself.

That was something Arnold knew the day he met her.

It was at pre-school. His grandpa had just dropped him off, when he saw a distraught looking little girl with blonde pigtails and a gigantic pink bow. There were no parents around to hug her, kiss her goodbye, or anything. The little girl had walked all the way from her own house to school in the pouring rain.

After that moment, Arnold had always wondered if like for Helga G. Pataki was always like that.

They never really spent much time together growing up, other than sports meetings, clubs and school projects, but whenever Arnold came over to her house, he could see that her family life was far from ideal.

There was her father, Big Bob Pataki. He was a ruthless businessman who ran a very successful beeper and cell phone emporium. Bob spent most of his time at work, doting on his oldest daughter Olga, or watching TV. Arnold didn't care for the man too much, but he was always very polite and civil to Mr. Pataki.

Then there was her sister Olga. While Arnold had no qualms with Helga's older sister, even for him she was way too optimistic. Not that he wasn't an optimist himself, but he wasn't naïve enough to ignore a real problem. While Arnold honestly liked Olga and believed that overall she was a good person who meant well, she could be a bit of an air head at times.

And then there was her mother. The one person who was the brunt of Helga's anger as of late.

Miriam Pataki was a neglectful alcoholic when she was living at the Pataki home all those years ago. Anyone could see it. Even Arnold, when he was nine years old, could smell alcohol on her breath whenever he saw her. She also appeared to be very depressed and generally very unhappy about everything.

Arnold did think that neither one of Helga's parents were about to get the Parent of the Year Award.

But he also had to wonder just what was it that Miriam did that caused Helga to be so angry with her.

Miriam's unexpected departure took a huge toll on Helga. For the first few months, she would barely eat. She began participating less in less in her classes, and even missed several baseball games!

When she reached the age of 14, she began smoking cigarettes (1). He would sometimes find her behind the gym of PHS 118 (2), smoking a cigarette. He remembered she made him promise not to tell anyone, and he kept that promise.

When she reached the age of 18, she no longer hid her addiction to cigarettes, and was often seen at the smoking section of Hillwood Community College.

However, despite all that, it really didn't take too long for Helga to return to normal. After a while, it was if Miriam even ceased to exist, and Helga went on with her life, as if she never even had a mother.

And then, Miriam suddenly appeared, and Helga's world came crashing down again.

When Arnold found his parents, the reunion was bittersweet, but it was a moment he had dreamt about since they left him at the boarding house.

When Miriam returned, Arnold imagined the emotional turmoil Helga was suffering because of it.

How else are you supposed to react to a mother who abandons you for ten years, and then comes back and expects everything to be ok again?

But Arnold, as much as he believed Helga had every right to be furious with her mother, also believed that Miriam had her reasons for leaving, and that Helga should listen to them.

For both the sake of mother and daughter, Arnold believed that Helga should hear her mother out.

As much as Helga would never say it, Arnold could tell that she did want some answers. She was just too hurt, too angry and too full of pride to admit that she did want her mom in her life.

And he was going to try to make that happen.

He was going to make it happen, and hopefully Helga wouldn't kill him for doing so.

Chapter Twelve is done. Only a few more chapters to go.

Notes:

I do not condone anyone under the age of 18 to smoke. And it's a bad idea to start, anyway. Take it from somebody who is trying to quite guys. It's very difficult to quit.

PSH-Public High School.


	13. Chapter 13: Party at Rhonda's

Chapter 13 is here!

Rhonda and a few other characters make an appearance. I hope I get their characters right. If I don't, I am terribly sorry, as it is my first time using these characters in a story.

Review Responses:

acosta perez jose ramiro

Thank you very much for your review.

You're right. Arnold is a huge optimist, but he is a very smart kid. He knows when someone is hurting, and it's in his nature to help people. If you ask me, we could use more people like Arnold in the world.

Nairobi-Harper

I'm glad you liked the chapter.

Yes, Arnold's optimism does tend to get in the way. However, if it didn't, he wouldn't be Arnold. Do you remember the episode where everyone was calling him a busy body and to stay out of their business? Well, Arnold decided to do just that, and look how it turned out? The boy can't NOT be optimistic

Nep2uune

Thank you very much for taking the time to review.

You raise a few very good points regarding Helga and Arnold. Arnold, for example, is not the type of person to hold grudges, where as Helga is. When something bad happens to Arnold, he feels bad about it for a bit, but then moves on with his life, where Helga lets her anger consume her.

I think Helga does this because it's her way, or idea, of being a strong person.

You're giving me an idea for a future chapter, by the way.

Chapter 13: Party at Rhonda's.

Helga did not like this.

Nope, Helga did not like this at all.

Phoebe had dragged her to Rhonda's house, for another one of Rhonda's lavish parties. Tonight's theme was black and white ball. Helga had managed to borrow a gown suitable for such a fancy party from Olga. The dress fit fine around her body, but was quite long around the feet, and the hem touched the floor. Helga had to borrow a pair of heels as well, so she wouldn't trip over the dress.

However, it was a miracle she managed to make it all the way to Rhonda's house without tripping on the heels.

"Remind me why I'm here again?" Helga glared at Phoebe, a glass of wine clutched tightly in her hand.

"Because, Helga," Phoebe said, "I thought it would do you some good to be around friends and take your mind off of…you know who."

Helga rolled her eyes, and watched as Rhonda conversed with Nadine and Sheena. Her hand lifted up the silk hem of her black and white gown.

"And then," Helga heard her say, "Daddy said that cost was no issue (1). The dress I am wearing was designed especially for me. No other woman has it. It's one of a kind!"

Helga shook her head. Although Rhonda was the same age as everyone else at the party, some things never changed.

"Wow, Rhonda," Sheena said smiling, "That dress is very beautiful."

"I know, isn't it?!"

Yes, Helga hated parties like this. Anything to do with make-up, hair styling, fancy clothes, anything girly, she strongly opposed it. She felt that way when she was nine years old, and her feelings never changed.

But, Phoebe had insisted she'd go. It took about three hours to convince the blonde to go, two hours to get her into the dress, and another two hours to do her hair and makeup.

The hardest task was the heels. When Helga saw the black five inched demons, she shook her head and said, "Oooooh no. No. No way! I am NOT wearing those stupid things."

One hour and a screaming Helga later, Helga G. Pataki was walking down the streets wearing a strapless black and white dress, five inch heels, and her hair and makeup all done.

She deeply wanted to strangle somebody.

But, she was here, so she might as well try to enjoy herself.

"Yo Rhonda!" She called out, "You got any more wine?"

"It's in the fridge, Helga."

Rhonda's parents were on vacation in the Bahamas', and their daughter thought it was the perfect opportunity to throw a party. They didn't even bother to hide the alcohol, nor tell her not to get into it.

Oh well. She could always just bury the bottles in the family's backyard, and replace the alcohol with the money she had. Her parents would never even have to know.

Not that they would have cared, anyway. Rhonda's parents were not parents in the traditional sense, after all.

Helga downed the last of her wine, before pouring herself another glass. She had no intentions of getting drunk, but the wine was starting to get to her after three glasses. Perhaps one or two more and she would be at that "I feel really good stage."

She wasn't a heavy drinker at all, but she figured a few glasses of wine tonight wouldn't hurt.

Rhonda had given everyone the option to spend the night, but both Phoebe and Helga politely declined. Helga didn't want to spend her time here longer than she had to, and Phoebe had a biology exam coming up this week.

"Hey, Rhonda," Nadine called out to her friend, "Put on some music."

Rhonda walked over to her i-Pod, which was plugged into the speakers, and hit play.

Helga honestly couldn't say she was surprised when she heard the song: Man-eater by Nelly Furtado. Walking over to the i-Pod and looking at the playlist, she could see that there were 15 songs. She knew a few of them such as Fashion and Poker Face by Lady Gaga, Fergalicious and Glamorous by Fergie, and Work Bitch by Britney Spears (2).

Before long, Rhonda, Sheena, Phoebe Nadine, and everyone else Rhonda had invited started to dance. Helga stood on the sidelines and watched. She wasn't into dancing, but had to admit that the song had a good beat and was quite catchy.

At around 2 AM, both Helga and Phoebe had changed their minds about not spending the night. The alcohol had caught up to the both of them, and they both decided they were too intoxicated to walk home.

They would just leave early in the morning.

At 2:30 AM, Rhonda had turned off the lights in the living room, placed the bottles of wine in the kitchen (she would take care of them later), and the girl's went off to their guestrooms. Rhonda would sleep in her room, but she paired Sheena and Nadine in one guestroom, and Helga and Phoebe in another.

Helga had to admit, as she fell onto the bed and sloppily dragged the covers over hers and Phoebe's bodies, that Rhonda was nice enough to lend her and Phoebe extra sleeping clothes.

She was also very happy that she was allowed to use the shower in order to get rid of all of that wretched makeup and hair spray.

In a matter of seconds, beautiful sleep overcame Helga.

Chapter 13 is done!

Next chapter is the big one. It's where you all will finally find out why Miriam left. Will it be good? Bad? I'm not going to tell, you'll just have to read to find out!

Oh, notes.

I think the cost is no issue thing is a quote said by Rhonda in the show, but I forgot which episode. She's always bragging about her fashion style, anyway. In that case, sometimes I wonder why I even try.

I do not own any of the songs mentioned in this chapter.


	14. Chapter 14: Finding Out the Truth

Chapter Fourteen is here. The amazing (Ha! I'll let you lot be the judge of that) chapter you've all been waiting for.

Review Responses:

acosta perez jose ramiro

Thank you very much for reviewing.

Yes, Rhonda can be a bit snobbish at times. Of course, it's understandable, as she is literally given anything she wants. Plus, according to the show, her father is a very wealthy person.

But there have been times in the show where she can be a pretty decent character, and actually has a very kind side to her.

Nep2uune

Thank you very much for reviewing.

Yes, I made Helga and Phoebe change their minds about walking home after drinking.

And of course the only reason Rhonda would have a party is so she can show off. Then again, it's Rhonda. She doesn't need an excuse to throw a party.

Nairobi-Harper

Thank you for reviewing.

I'm glad you enjoyed reading the chapter.

Chapter Fourteen: Finding Out the Truth

Bob and Miriam sat in front of the television, not saying a single word to each other.

Truth be told, it had been like this ever since Miriam returned from wherever she was. Estranged husband and wife would just drown in awkward silence.

After ten years, Bob couldn't just bring himself to tell his wife that he missed her.

After ten years, Miriam couldn't bring herself to tell her husband that she missed him.

Miriam got up from her place on the couch, and went into the kitchen to pour herself another cup of coffee.

"I wonder when Helga's going to be back," she said, finally deciding to break the silence, "she's been gone for such a long time." She sat back down on the couch.

Bob rolled his eyes at his wife's remark.

"Why don't you call her, if you're so worried, Miriam."

Miriam looked quite taken aback at her husband's sarcastic remark.

"E…excuse me?"

But Bob said nothing, and still continued to watch what was on the screen in front of him. He really did not want to get into it with Miriam, and that last comment would soon start something if he didn't end it right now.

Miriam, however, was not about to let what her husband said slip by like it was nothing.

"Well, aren't you worried, Bob?" She asked.

Bob shrugged again.

"She's a big girl," was his only response, "She'll be fine."

Miriam was still not appeased.

"I'm just expressing concern for my daughter's well-being.

That did it for Bob.

"Oh, like you expressed concern during the time you were here? Or how about the ten years that you spent away from us after you walked out on us?"

Miriam frowned deeply in her husband's direction.

"You're still on about that, are you?"

"Well, what do you expect me to say Miriam? What the hell do you even expect me to even think about you, about us?"

"Well, some understanding would be nice. And furthermore, you weren't exactly there for Helga, either. So I don't appreciate you trying to put all the blame on me, Robert Pataki."

"Oh, that's real rich, Miriam. It's just like you to never take responsibility for anything. Have you forgotten that YOU are the one who caused this mess in the first place? You stand there, accusing me of not being there for the girl, but here's the thing, dear wife! I NEVER LEFT! I NEVER CHOSE TO WALK OUT ON MY FAMILY!"

"You don't even know what I was going through to even make that kind of a choice. So, don't you dare cast judgment on me!"

"Don't I dare cast judgment? This coming from a mother who left her family for ten years, and only contacted them when it was convenient for her. No wonder Helga doesn't want to talk to you!"

Miriam said nothing, but continued to glare at her husband.

In this very moment, she hated him. But in this very moment, she knew he was right.

Finally, she got up from the couch again.

"I don't have to deal with this," she said, fuming, "I'm leaving."

"What? You're leaving again?" Bob asked in mock surprise, "So how long is it going to be this time, Miriam? Another ten years?"

"I'm not having this conversation with you, B! I'm done."

'Oh no,' Bob thought, she's not getting away from this that easily.

"COME BACK HERE!" He shouted, jumping up from the couch, and grabbing a hold of his wife's arm, "DON'T YOU DARE WALK AWAY FROM THIS! WHY CAN'T YOU EVER FACE YOUR PROBLEMS LIKE AN ADULT, MIRIAM?"

Right now, Bob was surprising even himself. Where was this coming from? Why was he suddenly so angry at Miriam?

Then, his eyes caught the date on the calendar. November 13.

It was ten years ago today that Miriam left.

All that anger that Bob held towards his wife was finally resurfacing, and it was about to be released in one fell swoop.

No, he would not let his wife just walk away again. Not this time.

He would make sure she knew exactly the betrayal that he, and their children, suffered at her hands.

Miriam yanked back her arm, and was glaring furiously at her husband.

"Don't touch me like that, Bob," she hissed, "I don't appreciate being handled like that."

"Oh, yes, let's feel sorry for Miriam. You have no idea the kind of damage you caused, do you?"

"What?"

"Look at the calendar, Miriam," Bob said, jabbing a finger towards the wall. Miriam's eyes followed his finger.

Her eyes widened when she saw it.

This was the day she packed her bags, left her family, and didn't see them again for ten years.

So that was why Bob was so angry.

Well then, she would make sure he understood the damage that he did to her.

Before long, more yelling at ensued. Harsh words were exchanged, and both husband and wife shouted to the high heavens, and each other, why they were both full of resentment towards each other.

"You have no idea what this marriage did to me Bob. You don't know what it feels like to be stuck, day in and day out. You don't know what it's like to be forced to give up your dreams for a life you didn't even plan on having!"

By now, Miriam was sobbing openly at her husband's raging face.

"I forced you? I FORCED YOU INTO THIS LIFE STYLE? DON'T GIVE ME THAT BULLSHIT, MIRIAM! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO DECIDED TO DROP OUT OF COLLEGE SO YOU COULD MARRY ME. This entire time," Bob lowered his voice, but it still sounded dangerous, "you've been bitching about how you couldn't go back to college, how you couldn't have a job. You still could have done ALL of those things, Miriam, even after the girls' were born. Instead, you just decided to sit around on your lazy ass, and complain about everything You bitch about how you've made nothing with your life, well you CHOSE to make nothing with your life. YOU'VE GOT NOBODY ELSE TO BLAME FOR THIS BUT YOURSELF!"

"OH, GO FUCK YOURSELF!"

Now Bob was taken aback. In all their years of marriage, never once did Miriam use that language, let along with him. His eyes widened at his wife's sudden outburst.

Miriam's face, was also something he'd never seen before. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her blonde hair was wild and furious. She panted heavily, as she glared her him with such anger, such resentment, such….such…he didn't know what to call it. Her teeth were bared.

"You're so adamant on taking personal responsibility, Robert?" She seethed through clenched teeth, "Fine then. Let's talk about taking personal responsibility. Do you remember the time when I was pregnant with Olga? When I found out, I was scared to death B. I was only 20 years old, too young to be a mother. But did you listen to how I felt? No, instead you FORCED me to have Olga. You forced me to carry a pregnancy to term, which I wasn't ready to do. You forced me to bring a child into the world that I wasn't ready to have. And then, you expected me to stay home with a baby that I never even planned on having. "

"You told me you wanted that baby, Miriam," Now it was Bob's turn to speak, "You told me that you were happy with the fact that we were expecting our first child."

Miriam shook her head.

"I lied about that Bob. I wasn't happy that I wasn't pregnant. Truth be told, I wanted an abortion, but then you had to be all, 'oh, abortion is wrong, it's an innocent child.' It's just such a fucking shame that men can't get pregnant, then maybe you brutes would understand exactly what we women go through when we are faced with an unplanned and an unwanted pregnancy."

"In the end, Miriam," Bob said, "You agreed to have Olga. In the end, you made the choice to bring a child into the world that you supposedly weren't ready for. If you had just told me your feelings, I would have understood."

Miriam shook her head angrily,

"No you wouldn't! You wouldn't have understood. Do you want to know why? Because you then forced me to have Helga after I found out I was pregnant with her. "

At that moment, a sudden blast of realization hit Bob like a truck going at full speed.

"So," he said, "So that's why you left. You simply decided that motherhood and being a wife was too difficult."

"That's not what I said…."

"No! No, that's exactly what it sounded like. You decided that motherhood and being a wife was too difficult. So, rather than be an adult and make your own life better, and own up to your responsibilities, you chose to walk away. You chose to make both our children's lives a living hell. Christ, I get it now! I understand it all now. You chose you own selfish needs over your own family."

It was that comment, that made Miriam snap.

"You're right!" She shouted, louder than she ever had before, "You're absolutely fucking right! I walked out because I didn't want this life anymore. And you know what? I'm glad I did! I wouldn't take those ten years that I was gone back, and if I could do it over again, I would! I didn't want to be a mother when you made me become one, Bob! I didn't want Olga when I was pregnant with her AND I CERTAINLY DIDN'T WANT HELGA!"

"Wha…what?"

They both looked up to see Helga, standing in the doorway. She was wearing one of her sister's old black and white ball gowns. Her feet were bare and dirty, indicating that she had walked home from wherever she was.

Miriam reached for her daughter, but Helga pulled back.

"That's…that's the reason you left?" Helga felt tears pouring down her cheeks.

"Helga," Bob gazed anxiously at his youngest daughter, "How…how much of that did you hear?"

But Helga chose not answer him.

"That's the reason you left? Because you…you didn't want me?"

"Helga, honey, it's much more complicated than that!" Miriam placed gentle hands on her daughter's shoulders.

"No, don't you FUCKING TOUCH ME!" Helga pulled back, as if her mother's touch was an electric shock.

Miriam looked on in shock as she watched her youngest daughter slowly back away from her mother, eyes wide in disbelief.

"All this time…when you said you cared about me, that you loved me…it was all a lie? You left because you didn't want me?"

"Helga, sweetie, let me explain…" mother attempted to coax daughter into listening, but Helga wouldn't hear of it.

"JUST…JUST STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

She didn't want to be in that house anymore. She didn't want to be around her mother, she didn't even want to see her mother.

She didn't even answer as her mom called to her, as she turned on her heel, and ran out the already open front door as fast as she could.

Bob and Miriam watched their daughter, looks of despair on their faces.

"Well, Bob," Miriam said after a few minutes, "If you hadn't put me in this position, Helga never would've…."

"Don't you try and blame me for this, Miriam," Bob's venomous tone left no room for argument, "This entire mess, what happened here today, is entirely on you. "

Miriam bit her lip in frustration, wanting so badly to retaliate, to find some way to get her out of this situation. But, deep down, she knew that she had nobody to blame but herself.

Bob gave his wife one last glare before saying, "I hope losing your entire family was worth it."

And, that's chapter 14. There was a lot of dialogue, but let me tell you: I went back and forth with so many things with this chapter. In the end, I always came back to what you just read.

Now, did Miriam mean what she said when she didn't want Helga, or did she say it out of anger? That's for you lovely readers to find out. The story's not over yet, so stay tuned!


	15. Chapter 15: I Won't Forgive You!

Here is chapter fifteen!

Review Responses:

The J.A.M. a.k.a. Numbuh i

Thank you very much for reading, and reviewing.

No, nobody's lights are going to be punched out. Although, if the last chapter actually happened in real life, Helga probably would have wanted to punch her mother.

Nep2uune

Thank you very much for reviewing.

What Miriam said was true. However, she also feels guilty about the pain she caused. And, as the last chapter stated, while she wants nothing more than to put the blame on someone else, she knows that this entire thing is her fault.

It can be looked at in two ways:

One: Bob is at fault for forcing Miriam to have a child she wasn't ready to have. If you truly love someone, you would never force that person into such a huge situation.

Two: On the other hand, Miriam could have said no. Regardless of what Miriam accuses Bob of, she let herself be talked into carrying an unwanted pregnancy to term. Bob may be a blow-hard and far from husband of the year, but Miriam let herself be put into the situation.

It pretty much comes down to one thing: people can use your emotions, religious beliefs and values to manipulate you into doing what they want you to do, but personal responsibility has to come in somewhere.

In all honesty, Bob no longer wants his wife to keep playing the victim card. As you read in the last chapter, as well as the previous ones, Bob does feel a lot of anger towards his wife. Remember, when you decide to abandon your family, you aren't just causing your children pain; you're also causing your spouse pain as well. In reality, he still loves Miriam, but he is sick of her constant excuses. The events that took place in chapter 14 were bound to come up sooner or later.

As for Miriam coming back, she has her reasons, and those will be revealed pretty soon.

acosta perez jose ramiro

Thank you very much for the review.

Yes, that was the worst thing Miriam could have said, and at the worst possible moment. I thought it Helga had just walked in just in time to hear Miriam scream out that she never wanted her, or her sister, it would have been that much more dramatic, which is what I was going for.

Nairobi-Harper

Thank you very much for reviewing.

If you read my story, Memoirs of Miriam, it explains (from a fan of the show's point of view) Miriam's back-story. I actually got the idea from this chapter from that story.

Chapter Fifteen: I Won't Forgive You!

Helga ran down the street, her eyes were blurry from tears. She didn't know where she was going, nor did she care. She didn't care that she was bare foot. She didn't care that she was still wearing. her older sister's old ball gown.

All she wanted to do, was get as far away from the Pataki household, but most of all, Miriam, as far as she possibly could.

Her mother's last words were burned into her mind. The horrible mantra repeated itself over and over again.

Before long, Helga at reached City Park, where she collapsed on a patch of grass, and began openly sobbing, tightly hugging her chest, as she hung her head in despair and anguish.

'That's why she left,' Helga thought as she continued to sob loudly, 'she left because she didn't want me. She didn't want Olga, and she didn't want me.'

What Helga just found out, no child should ever have to experience. The person she once thought she could trust had ripped her heart in two once again, but now?

Now, there was no sign of any chance that Helga's heart would ever be repaired.

It was funny, though. Despite her anger towards her mother, Helga often wondered if she really should give Miriam a chance to explain herself, explain why she left. At times, she would almost consider allowing Miriam to have that chance.

However, every single time, the feelings of betrayal and resentment would rise up once again, and squash those considerations of even slightly forgiving her mother.

But after what she just heard, any thoughts of granting her mother a second chance had been blown to smithereens.

'Why couldn't she just have stayed gone?' Helga thought in agonizing rage, 'Why did she have to come back?'

If Miriam truly didn't want her children to begin with, if she was so unhappy with the life she was living when she got married, why did she decide to come back after all these years?

The damage had been done the day she left. What was the point of causing more damage by coming back?

As she cried, Helga began to wonder just what the hell she may have even done to deserve such treatment from her own mother. She began to wonder if she was just incapable of being loved, in general.

'I didn't ask for this!' She thought angrily, 'I didn't ask to be born! I didn't ask to be brought into the world, and I didn't ask for the family I now have.'

Helga's thoughts paused on that last word: family.

For the 19 years she had been on this earth, Helga barely knew what family was, or what it even meant.

Oh sure, she had a general idea. But, the images of a happy and ideal family that came to mind, were far from reality for her.

And now that the truth was out, now that everything was said and done, Helga knew that there was no way she would give Miriam a second chance. In this very moment, and for the rest of her life, she no longer wanted anything to do with the woman who let herself be forced into a situation she wasn't ready to handle. She wanted nothing to do with the woman who put her own selfish needs over the well-being of her children, because it just got too difficult.

Miriam just wasn't capable of being a mother, let alone a good one, Helga began to truly realize this harsh reality.

And then, more venomous thoughts about her mother resurfaced in Helga.

It was like all of Helga's emotions were put into a jar, and the jar was slowly, yet forcefully beginning to crack.

She thought of all the promises her mother had made, and then broken.

She thought about how she was subjected to coming home every day to a mother who drowned her sorrows in alcohol.

She thought about how every single one of her friends and classmates had a mother that actually showed they even cared, those mothers were there for their children, while hers wasn't.

She thought about how her own mother couldn't be bothered to spend five minutes to give a damn.

And while she thought about all of those things, Helga could feel her anger

She suddenly decided to make a vow to herself, a vow that she promised to never break.

Miriam one day decided that she no longer wanted the life she had. Well, now her youngest daughter was about to grant her mother's wish.

Her mother would get exactly what she wanted. She didn't want to be tied down with a husband and children, well she could have that wish!

As far as Helga was concerned, her mother was dead to her. The woman that she heard scream out her reasons for leaving, was not her mother. It was some demonic creature, pretending to be her mother.

She never had a mother.

More tears poured down Helga's face, and her eyes began to burn.

"I'll never forgive you!" She whispered with such venom, such malice.

"I'll never forgive you!" It was louder this time.

The shouts came out as choked sobs, but Helga didn't care.

"I'LL NEVER EVER FORGIVE YOU!"

"Helga?"

Helga gasped in surprise, and turned her head in the direction of the new voice.

It was none other than Arnold, and he had a great look of concern on his face, for the broken girl in front of him.

Chapter 15 is done!

So, obviously Helga feels a newfound anger towards Miriam. You're probably thinking that this is the end, and that this story won't have a happy ending.

It's true, not every story does. But keep in mind, that this story isn't over.


	16. Chapter 16: Arnold's Shock!

Here is chapter 16!

Review Responses:

The J.A.M. a.k.a. Numbuh i

Thank you very much for the review.

I don't think I'll have Helga move into the boarding house. However, thank you for the suggestion !

Nairobi-Harper

Thank you very much for reviewing.

Yes, there will be some ArnoldxHelga in future chapters. In fact, the one you're about to read has some ArnoldxHelga in it. It's not romantic or anything, but it works.

Nep2uune

Thank you for reviewing.

Yes, Helga does have every right to cut Miriam out of her life. In reality, I've always had a problem with parents who decide to leave their children because they weren't ready to be a parent, and then come back years later expecting everything to be ok again. It doesn't work like that.

Truth be told, I wanted Miriam to come off as totally selfish in this story. However, I will be going another route involving that selfishness. Can you guess what it might be?

And yes, Miriam knows that in this case, she is completely in the wrong. I really do think that in the show, she was depressed because she jumped into everything way too fast. I always believed that her first pregnancy was not planned, and that Bob did in some way manipulate her into having the baby. However, in the end, it all comes down to the choices we make. If my guess is true about why Miriam is the way she is, and if she truly was pressured into having Olga, and more than likely Helga, there needs to be the acknowledgement that she agreed to have those kids. This is what I mean by personal responsibility. If we're going by my theory, Bob never should have tried to pressure Miriam, but if you let yourself be taken advantage of, you've nobody else but yourself to blame for that. Yes, it sounds harsh and judgmental, but we are responsible for the actions we commit.

Which also goes into what you said. Miriam is blaming Bob for her problems, and pretty much for her getting pregnant in the first place. As you said, it takes two to tango.

acosta perez jose ramiro

Thank you for reviewing.

Right now, Helga does need all the support she can get. It's obvious in the show, from what we've seen in a few episodes, that Arnold really does care about Helga.

And, it's obvious that he knows how she truly feels. Just watch the end of Hey Arnold the Movie, and you will see what I mean. I think he's just waiting for her to come out and tell him for real.

Chapter 16: Arnold's Shock!

Arnold stared at the blonde girl in front of him.

"Helga," he finally said, after a few minutes, "What's going on?"

Helga quickly turned her head away from him, and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"It's nothing, Arnold," she said, "Go home."

But Arnold wouldn't budge.

"No, Helga," he said with determination, "I can tell just by looking at you, that you've been crying. There's something wrong, I know there is. Whatever happened, isn't just nothing. Something must have happened in order for you to be in this state. Now, tell me what's wrong."

"Why do you even care?!" She spat.

Arnold sighed. This was going to be more difficult than he thought.

"Because, Helga," he said, "you're my friend, and despite our past when we were children, I care about you, and I want know why you look so sad."

"You wouldn't understand!"

"Oh, I wouldn't? You haven't even told me, so why would you think I wouldn't? Maybe I wouldn't understand completely, but I can promise you that I will at least try."

"FINE!" Arnold nearly jumped back at the sudden outburst.

"If you really want to know why I'm here, and because it looks like you will never go away unless I spill it all out for you, well here it goes: I just found out the reason my mother left."

"You did?" Arnold asked in surprise, "What did she say?"

From the look on Helga's face, the news didn't sound good. What could Miriam have possibly said that caused Helga to be like this?

"Helga," he said again, softer this time, "just tell me what happened."

Helga gulped as she was about to reveal such a horrible truth to Arnold.

"I had just gotten back from Rhonda's party," she said, starting her story from the very beginning.

"When I reached my house, I heard screaming. It was Bob and Miriam, but I didn't anything of it, you know? Ever since I can remember, they've always been fighting about something or another. So, I just didn't care, you know? I've gotten so used to it, that it became a normal part of life for me."

"What were they fighting about?"

"I don't know, it was so loud and frantic, that I couldn't catch all of the words. When I walked into the front door, I heard Miriam shout that….that she never wanted my sister…and that she never…she never wanted me."

Arnold felt his heart drop all the way to his feet. He couldn't believe what Helga has just told him.

There was silence, as he began to take in the words that came out of her mouth.

Miriam never wanted her children.

Miriam didn't want Olga.

Miriam didn't want Helga.

He watched as Helga continued to sob in anguish.

For the first time, Arnold, who always had something to say for any situation, who had the gift of making even the loneliest person feel like they're worth something, was stunned into absolute silence.

What could he say to something like this?

Was there anything that even could be said? What words of comfort could be offered to someone who just heard their own mother scream out that she never wanted her own children?

Helga began to breathe heavily.

"God…GOD DAMNIT!" She slammed her fists onto the grass.

"GOD DAMNIT! THIS ISN'T FUCKING FAIR!"

Arnold said nothing, but merely just let Helga rant and rave.

After she had calmed down, her sobs were so violent that they began to shake her entire body.

"What did I do?" She whispered brokenly, "What did I do that was so wrong to make my own mother not want me?"

Arnold wanted nothing more right then and there to say that there was nothing that Helga did.

So, he did the next best thing.

He knelt down next to Helga, and held her. The second his arms were wrapped around her, she began sobbing, louder than ever before. Each sob shook her body violently, as they came up in choked gasps.

Arnold was beginning to understand the situation. Helga was born to a mother who hadn't the slightest clue what she was doing.

In the end, Miriam had forced her own children to make devastating sacrifices, just so their own mother could be happy.

She brought two kids into the world, that in the end, had no desire to really raise or take care of.

And that, to both Helga and Olga, especially Helga, was not fair.

It also wasn't fair to Bob.

It wasn't fair to the Pataki's that Miriam decided to leave behind.

Arnold could see why Helga, although she pretended to be so strong, she was quite broken.

It amazed him that in so many cases, children had to suffer for their parents mistakes.

Still, as Arnold held onto Helga tightly, he couldn't help but feel a slight hatred towards Miriam for causing so many people so much pain, and all for her own selfish desires.

At the same time, he strongly believed that there was more to the story than what Helga had heard or witnessed.

And one way or another, he would find out. He would make sure that he saw Helga Pataki smile with true happiness once again.

Chapter 16 is done.

So, I'm a bit of a dilemma. It looks like this story is going to be quite long, because there is so much I want to do with it. I don't know if this should just be a butt-load of chapters, or split into two parts.

Obviously, in the end, it's up to me, I get that. But, my lovely reviewers, what would you do?


	17. Chapter 17: A Mother's Lament

ZOMG! Chapter 17!

Review Responses:

Nairobi-Harper

Thank you very much for reviewing.

Arnold can sympathize with Helga, but he can't understand her situation, because he's never been there. After all, his parents left because they had to go and help cure sick people. Helga's parents were almost never there for her, except for a few episodes, because they couldn't be bothered.

And yes, children can and do suffer from their parents mistakes, and it truly does suck to know that a child was brought into an already fucked up situation. Helga paid for her parents mistakes every day of her life. If we look at the all the hints of Helga's family life, including how her mom is an alcoholic, her dad is an over controlling blow hard, and both her parents constantly dote on Olga and neglect Helga, it's no wonder why Helga is the way she is.

acosta perez jose ramiro

Thank you for the review.

And yes, sometimes when you want to comfort someone, the best way to give them comfort, is to let them talk and just let it all out. Sometimes, words aren't needed.

Also, there was no point in Arnold saying, "Oh, you didn't do anything wrong," or "It'll all be ok," because Helga wouldn't have seen it that way when she was in the state that she was in when he found her.

Chapter 17: A Mother's Lament.

Miriam sat on the couch, thinking about the fight she just had with her husband, and the words she yelled out that caused Helga to run away.

It's truly amazing how words can cause such damage, isn't it?

Miriam also began to think of all the mistakes she made in the past. Dropping out of college to get married, getting pregnant with an unwanted child at the age of 20, and letting herself be talked into carrying that pregnancy to term.

It was a short list of mistakes, but the consequences, like with any choice we make in life, were long term.

In truth, Miriam truly did not want Olga or Helga. She simply wasn't ready to be a mother when she first found out she was pregnant with her first child. There were so many things she wanted to do, and believed that having a child before she was ready to even begin comprehend the responsibilities of raising a child.

But, Olga came into the world anyway, and so did Helga.

In truth, Miriam loved her children, but she hated everything about being a mother. The diaper changes, the feeding, the crying, the messes and the whining. Miriam spent her entire marriage being a stay at home mom, and not once did she ever feel appreciated for doing such a difficult task. Raising children, whether you were ready to have them or not, wasn't easy.

Miriam loved her children. How could she not? After all, they were a part of her. But, she wasn't lying when she said that she never wanted them.

However, if she could go back and take those words back, she would. Some things, no matter how honest they are, are best left unsaid.

Her husband was right. This entire mess was her fault.

She just wondered why it took her so long to admit it.

Perhaps it was because deep down, she was ashamed of herself. She was ashamed that no matter how many people she tried to blame, how many excuses she tried to make up, in the end, it didn't matter. She was the one who chose to walk away.

She was the one that hurt her husband. Ever since she came back, he too felt like he wanted really nothing to do with her.

Her oldest daughter Olga felt differently, and Miriam honestly had to say that she was grateful for that. She knew that Olga may not have agreed with the choice her mother made, but she still tried to be a supportive as she could.

And Helga? Helga was the one she hurt the most. After all, how could Helga even begin to try to forgive a mother that was not only not there for her when she was actually around, but then just leaves without so much as a goodbye or an explanation?

If there were so many other methods she could have sought out, such as therapy, getting a job, volunteer work, if there were so many options she could have taken up so she could no longer feel like her life was worthless, why did she take the easy way out, and leave? She even could have tried talking Bob into marriage counseling.

The answer? Because for a moment, Miriam wanted to be completely free, with no obligations or expectations. No more being a wife, and no more being a mother. She wanted the life she would have had, if she had never gotten married, and never had children.

During the first few years, she adored her new life, away from her family. In truth, she had moved in with an old friend of hers back from her high school days. She relished in the fact that for the first time in years, she was free to do whatever she wanted. She even got a job as a cashier at the grocery store. She finally got the life she wanted, a life filled with freedom and no responsibilities except to herself.

However, ten years had gone by, and she began to think about her family. What were they doing? How were they doing?

In the end, she decided to go back. She didn't tell them that she was returning.

She thought that everything would be ok, even though she knew that Bob would be highly disappointed in her. She also knew that Helga would be angry as well.

But, she never expected Helga to be as angry as she was. And after what she just admitted right in front of her own daughter, Miriam feared that she had single handedly once again destroyed any and all chances of Helga ever forgiving her. She couldn't blame her daughter though. If he had heard her own mother say that, Miriam didn't think she'd be so forgiving, either.

With a look of determination on her face, Miriam Pataki realized that she had to try. She had to prove to Helga that she could be a good mother, that she deserved to be in Helga's life, and she would do whatever it took to make that a reality.

It was all, or nothing.

She opened the front door, with the sole purpose of going out and searching for her daughter, when a blonde football headed boy caught her eyes.

The boy looked at her sternly and said, "Mrs. Pataki, we need to talk. Now."

Op! Arnold's there to talk to Miriam. What will he say?

So, from this chapter, Miriam obviously does regret what she said, and does wish she could take it back. But, will she put in the effort to prove to Helga that she can be a good mother?


	18. Chapter 18: Arnold and Miriam

And, here is chapter 18.

Chapter 18: Arnold and Miriam.

"A…Arnold?" Miriam gasped in shock.

"May I come in, please?" Arnold asked in a very calm manner.

Miriam said nothing, but moved out of the way so that the young man could enter the Pataki household.

As Miriam shut the door, she had to wonder just what was one of Helga's friends doing here, and why was he here?

Not wanting to be an impolite hostess, Miriam asked him if he wanted anything to drink, to which he had politely declined.

Arnold may have felt anger towards Miriam, but being rude would serve no purpose whatsoever.

He made his way over to the couch, and sat down. Miriam copied his actions, except for sitting in the large brown armchair across from him.

For awhile, the two stared at each other. Arnold with a nonchalant look on his face, and Miriam appeared to be quite nervous. Every so often, she would wring her trademark purple dress in her hands, tap her heels, and gaze at the floor.

Ten minutes of silence passed, as Arnold tried to figure out what he was going to say. This was a very delicate situation, and he had to approach it with caution.

Finally, the words came to him.

"Mrs. Pataki, let me tell you the reason why I'm here, even though I think you already know," he said, "I want to discuss Helga with you. Furthermore, this conversation, does not go out of this house, do I make myself clear, Mrs. Pataki? Your husband and your two daughters are not to know of what's about to happen, do you understand?"

Miriam slowly nodded. She had always remembered Arnold being a calm and cheerful little boy. But, the cheerful little boy was now a young man. And the words he was using, the way he was talking, unnerved her.

"I would also like you to know that Helga told me something very serious, and I want to hear the truth from her own mother. Do not take that as me disbelieving your daughter, but I need confirmation from you."

"A…alright…."

"Did you yell, out loud, in front of Helga, that you never wanted her or her sister?"

Miriam was taken aback by Arnold's blunt question. She guessed that Helga had told him, but when had she done that?

Arnold leaned forward to get closer the woman.

"Please answer the question, Mrs. Pataki" he said more sternly this time, "Did you, or did you not, yell, out loud, right in front of Helga, that you never wanted her or her sister?"

Miriam felt like she had been backed into a wall, but she knew there was no getting out of this one.

The woman hung her head in shame and whispered a broken, "yes." It was soft, and barely loud enough for Arnold to hear, but he had heard it.

Arnold sighed. In truth, a part of him wished that Helga was lying, but he knew better. Helga had told figs in the past, but she would never make something of this magnitude up.

"I see. Well, Mrs. Pataki, I hope you understand the extent of the damage that you caused. I can't say I understand from Helga's point of view or yours, but the fact of the matter is, you hurt Helga in ways that time can never truly heal. As far as I'm concerned, I don't think you're a horrible person, but you made some seriously bad and selfish decisions that caused your entire family to suffer greatly. You have a lot to answer for. Helga also told me that you constantly blame Bob for everything that has happened, for the way your life turned out. You're an adult, Mrs. Pataki. Adults are supposed to admit their wrongs and fix them, not run away. If you want to be back in Helga's life, I'll be willing to help you, but you have to help yourself."

That was it. Miriam finally broke down. Sobbing, she admitted that Arnold was right.

But, she then asked him if she could tell her side of the story. Quickly adding that her intentions were not to make more excuses, but only because she just wanted someone to listen.

Arnold, although he was severely disappointed in the woman in front of him, was fair. He nodded his head, giving her the go ahead.

And Miriam did just that. She began telling him everything. How she dropped out of college to get married. How she ended up pregnant at a very young age. How she felt when it came to feeling you were trapped in a loveless marriage. She also told him how she became an alcoholic, how the fights she and husband had affected her. How she eventually felt so trapped an overwhelmed, that running away seemed like the best option.

As Arnold was listening, he began to have some sympathy for Miriam. He began to understand why she did what she did.

However, he wasn't about to let her off the hook. He said she had a lot to answer for, well it was time to start answering.

"Mrs. Pataki, I'm very sorry that you had to go through with all of that. And…I'm glad you told me all of this. It gives me a better understanding of the situation," he paused, thinking about what he was going to say next.

"But," he continued, "although I realize that you didn't ask for or want any of those things to happen, you need to start taking responsibility for your actions. Also, you should know that I care about Helga, and I don't like seeing her hurt. However, please know that despite everything, I do not hate you, Mrs. Pataki."

Miriam couldn't believe what she was hearing. For the first time in her life, someone actually tried to understand where she was coming from. She didn't expect the boy to let her off the hook when he first started talking to her, but this was a start.

But, she was still weary of everything that happened.

"You're right, Arnold," she said in a tired yet desperate voice, "But I…I don't know what to do. I want to fix this, I really, really do, but…I don't know how!"

Arnold looked at the woman sitting before him.

"I have an idea," he finally said, "it'll take a while to put everything together. I'll call you once everything is ready. "

With that, Arnold announced that he was leaving, and thanked Miriam for her time.

After Arnold had left, Miriam had so many questions running through her head: what was Arnold planning to do? What sort of idea did he have?

And more importantly, would it work?

Chapter Eighteen is done!

So, Arnold has a few tricks up his sleeve, but what are they? I'm not telling!

This story will get more and more dramatic, until the final finish, where it all comes together. When that happens, I have no idea.

My reasons for this? Quite simple really: FUCK YOU, SENIOR THESIS!


	19. Chapter 19: So, That's it, Then?

Chapter 19 is up and ready to be read!

Please note that one of the characters does a major turnaround compared to what you guys are used to seeing. However, this chapter has a reason for even existing, and it will play into later chapters.

And that person might be a little, ok a lot, OOC. But, if I hadn't done that, the vision I had for this chapter would never have worked, and I don't think it would have been as effective.

Chapter 19: So, That's it, Then?

Miriam was sitting at the dining room table, when her husband walked in.

He doesn't say anything, but Miriam doesn't expect him to. After all, they just had a huge fight. Their silence after their fights was nothing unusual when their children weren't around. When it was just the two of them, they could go on for days without talking to each other.

Bob did break the silence by telling her that Helga was spending a few days at one of her friend's houses, and would come home when she felt like it.

Miriam said nothing, but merely nodded her head, acknowledging that she heard her husband.

She watched as her husband opened the fridge, and fished out a beer.

As he was about to walk out into the living room, Miriam decided that she should be the one to start.

"Bob?" She muttered in a quiet voice.

Bob turned around to face his wife, arching one eyebrow. From the sound of her voice, it didn't sound she was about to start fighting with him again.

His eyed widened when he saw that his wife was crying.

"Bob, I….I'm so, so, so sorry!" She sobbed out, "I'm so sorry, for everything!"

And, Bob listened as Miriam poured out her apologies. She apologized for running away. She apologized for trying to make him take all of the blame.

"I was so wrong," she cried out, "What I did was horrible, but please Bo, please, I beg of you to realize that I am truly sorry for everything that I have done. Can you please, you and Helga, can you ever find it in your hearts to forgive me for what I've done to you?"

Bob looked down at his sobbing wife. So many thoughts ran through his head.

He sat down in the chair across from Miriam, and took her hand. Miriam gasped at the sudden contact. It had been years since Bob showed this level of affection.

"Miriam," he began, "I know you're sorry, and I believe that you are as sorry as you say you are."

Miriam sniffed, and smiled at him. He smiled back, and it was one of the most beautiful things that Miriam had ever seen. Right before her was the man that she had originally fallen in love with.

"At the same time, I believe that I have a few things to answer for, as well. I'm sorry too. I too have realized that I haven't been the greatest husband to you. I realize that…I should have appreciated you more than I did, and that I should have tried to see things from your side more often."

Miriam was practically beside herself with joy. This was the first time in years where she and her husband actually had a meaningful conversation!

But then, Bob did something that stabbed Miriam in the gut with worry. His smile disappeared from his face, and he averted his eyes from hers to their clasped hands.

"But, there is something I have to tell you," he finally said, "I truly do believe that you are sorry. And, I also know that if you could take all of those things that you mentioned back, you would, despite what you said earlier. But…Miriam…I'm….I'm sorry, but I can't do this anymore. The fights, the constant blame games, I've had enough of it. I'm done, Miriam. I can't do this anymore."

Miriam felt a lump in her throat. Struggling to swallow it, she couldn't believe what he was saying, or where this was even coming from.

"Wha…what do you mean?" She asked in bewilderment.

Bob stared into his wife's eyes.

Out of all the times Bob stared her down, this was the scariest. His eyes didn't hold any traces of malice or resentment, but pure, unadulterated determination. His breathing was heavy, and his stare seemed to pierce her right to her very soul.

Miriam honestly would have chosen being yelled at by him over this.

After a few minutes, Bib Bob Pataki opened his mouth.

"I want a divorce."

Didn't expect that did you? Like I said, this chapter plays a part in later chapters..

I portrayed Bob this way in this chapter for a reason. He is probably very OOC, but also like I said, I had a vision for how this chapter would be planned out.

And I wanted to throw you guys another curve ball. After all, Bob would be the last one to say he wanted a divorce. However, I wanted to portray a man that had reached his limits. He still loves Miriam, he really does, and in his own way, he has always loved her. But, as Bob said in the story, he's getting fed up with everything that has been going on, and no longer wants to continue the marriage. He's not wanting to divorce her because he hates her or thinks she's a horrible person,, but he is fed up with all of the fighting, and truly does not believe that this marriage is worth saving.

Chapter 20 will be up shortly.


	20. Chapter 20: Running Out of Time

Here is chapter 20, ready to be read.

Review Responses:

Nairobi-Harper

Thank you very much for reviewing.

Honestly, I don't think it was ever shown that Miriam disliked any of Helga's friends. How could she? She barely took any notice!

Also, the only reason why I had Bob be the one to ask for divorce, because if I had Miriam do it, after how she suddenly became all about making what she did up to her family, well, that probably wouldn't have made too much sense.

Bob, to me, would the last person to even consider divorce. He's the person who believes that no matter what kind of choices you make in life, you have to live with those choices, and in many ways, that's true. However, even a blow-hard like Bob Pataki has his limits. I guess you could say Miriam pushed the last button.

Nep2uune

Thank you so much for reviewing.

In all honesty, I am thinking about doing a sequel. However, I could also just keep it to one story. I honestly haven't decided yet.

And yes, being a mother is a very hard job, one of the hardest, as I can imagine. However, yes, Miriam was so focused on what she didn't have, that she lost sight of what she did have.

I don't know if very many people would feel sorry for Miriam.

The J.A.M. a.k.a. Numbuh i

Thanks for the review.

Also, about time for what? The divorce? Why am I now getting the feeling that you ALL saw that coming? Damnit, I need to throw you guys for a loop!

acosta perez jose ramiro

Thank you very much for reviewing.

Neither Bob or Miriam are what I call good parents. I've seen rats with more parental instincts.

But yes, Bob has reached his limit, big time. You know a spouse can't take it anymore when they tell their wife or husband that they want a divorce.

Arnold would be very good in psychology. He knows exactly what to say without sounding unfair, and while he is able to sympathize with people, he also knows when to call them out when they've done something wrong.

Chapter 20: Running Out of Time.

Miriam sat on the couch, eyes blurry with tears as her own mind forced herself to repeat the last words her husband said to her.

_I want a divorce._

_ I want a divorce._

She could scarcely believe it. How? How had it come to this? How could Bob act like he was ok with her finally returning, and then all of a sudden spring this on her?

She didn't even think. She sprang up from her place on the couch, and grabbed the phone book.

Opening it with such force, and nearly ripping the pages, she began looking for Arnold's number.

She didn't know what she was doing, she was in a daze. All that she could think about was that she had to talk to Arnold, now!

The phone rang, and then a voice came on. It was Arnold.

Before the boy could even ask who was calling, Miriam broke into complete hysterics. Her voice was so shaky and so inaudible, that the poor boy had to ask her repeatedly to calm down and tell him what was wrong.

After a few minutes of hysterical shrieking, Miriam could only voice one thing, "My…my house…n…NOW!"

Arnold told her that he would be there as soon as possible.

Miriam paced back and forth on the floor, until ten minutes later, the doorbell rang. Running over to it, she nearly tore the poor door off its hinges and quickly ushered Arnold in.

Actually, it was more like she grabbed his arm and nearly yanked it out of its socket, all the while sobbing and gasping for air.

Arnold gently pushes Miriam down onto the sofa, and proceeded to tell her to calm down, and take deep breaths.

When Miriam finally calmed down enough to talk, Arnold asked her, "Now, tell me exactly what happened."

Miriam instantly revealed everything to Arnold: how her husband told her that he can no longer do this, how he told her that he was planning to file for divorce, and how he wanted her out of the house by the end of the month (1).

As Arnold's eyes widened with shock, Miriam's face fell into her hands, and she repeated the words, "I don't know what to do! I don't know what to do!" Over and over again.

"Mrs. Pataki….when did…" Arnold attempted to ask, but Miriam tearfully cut him off.

"Just…just after you left. Bob came home, and that's when he t…told me!"

Arnold could scarcely believe what he was hearing. Although he did not agree with what Miriam did, he strongly believed that she did not deserve this. So many calculations swam around in his head. The situation was dire; he needed to act, and fast!

"Don't worry," he told her, "everything will work out, I'll do my best to make sure of it. Just give me a couple of days to figure something out, and I'll call you when what I have planned has been set in motion."

He got up to leave, and went over to the front door to show himself out. Just before he was about to open the door, he heard a soft, "wait," from Miriam. He stops to turn his head to look at her.

Miriam stares him down with watery eyes, before asking, "Why? Why are you doing this? It's not because I am not grateful for whatever you are planning to do, but why are you doing this, when the situation doesn't even directly involve you?"

Arnold had to take a moment to answer Just why was he doing this? This divorce, hell, this entire situation, did not involve him. Any other person would have simply offered their condolences, and then leave to go about their daily lives. It was common sense that you did not get involved in a situation where two people were about to get a divorce, for that was something that only spelled trouble.

Finally, he reached his answer.

"Because," he said, "I believe this situation can be fixed. I honestly don't think that divorce in this case is the answer. This marriage can be saved, but both you and Bob need to agree to put in the effort to do what needs to be done to save it. However, from what I've heard and seen, it sounds like neither of you are willing to do that, and instead would much rather throw this marriage under a bus. I can help you get started, Mrs. Pataki, but after that, you're on your own. At that point, whatever happens to your marriage is up to you. The other reason why I'm doing this, is because of Helga. She's already been through a lot, and I honestly don't think that the news of a divorce will help her when she's so vulnerable. Furthermore, I care for Helga deeply, and I do not like seeing her hurt, by anybody. "

With that, Arnold gave Miriam a curt nod and left the Pataki house.

Miriam only hoped that whatever he had planned, he would come through just in time.

Chapter twenty is done. Whatever Arnold has in store will be revealed pretty soon. And it's actually very simple and kind of obvious.


	21. Chapter 21: Olga Finds Out

Here is chapter 21!

Chapter 21: Olga Finds Out

A cheerfully, "I'm home!" notified Bob that his oldest daughter Olga was home from her job at the local daycare center.

The patriarch of the Pataki family had been home alone for the past few hours. Helga and Miriam were off somewhere, not together, obviously, and quite frankly, he just didn't want to bother wondering their whereabouts.

Furthermore, Olga was just the person he wanted to talk to.

"Olga!" He called out, "Can you come into the trophy room for a moment?"

A pitter patter of footsteps, and Olga appeared, a glass of water in her hand.

"Is there something you need, daddy?" She asked in a sweet voice. She thought he had taken her in her so he could once more brag about her achievements. It was something he always did, whether or not she was around.

But, something caught Olga's eye. Her father's face looked worn and haggard. Dark circles adorned his eyes, and he looked years older than he actually was.

Something was very wrong, but Olga couldn't put her finger on it.

"I don't need or want anything from you Olga," he said, "I just need to talk to you about…something."

"O….okay….."

"You uh….you might want to sit down for this."

Olga slowly sat down in the chair opposite her father, and turned to face him. What was going on? Why did her father look so horrible?

Bob stared at his daughter for a few minutes, thinking exactly how he was going to tell her the news. Thoughts ran through his head.

'Should I let her down easy, or just come right out and say it?'

Deciding that there was no easy way to tell your child what he was about to tell his own, he figured because Olga did not take kindly to bad news, he's start it off gently.

"Olga. I have something to tell you, and I think it's best if you first hear it from me, so you know…you can get everything exactly word for word….no sugar coating, no beating around the bush."

'There,' Bob thought, 'that's….that's good. Just keep it calm and straight forward.'

"Olga," he said, "I'm very sorry, but I am planning to divorce your mother. I talked to your mother about it a few days ago, and I told her that I want her out of the house by the end of the month. That'll give her plenty of time to find a new place to live, and once that happens, I am forwarding her the papers."

Olga couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her eyes widened in shock, unable to process this new and devastating information.

No, she would not allow this to happen!

"No!" She cried out, "Daddy, what do you mean you're divorcing mother? How could you….why would you…."

"It wasn't an easy decision for me to make, Olga. But I had to make it."

Olga stared at her father frantically, trying to come up with some sort reason, anything at all, to make her father see that what he was planning to do was wrong.

"But…but…can't you two work it out? Can't you two just talk about it? Daddy, I'm…I'm sure if you would just try to work it out with mother then…then everything will be ok again. You can go to couple's therapy, you can both work this out!"

It tore Bob's heart to see his kid in such distress, but as a father, he had to remain strong and firm in telling Olga about his plans.

"My decision is final, Olga," Bob held up a hand, signaling that nothing she could do could change his mind, "I promise you that I really wish it didn't have to come this, but it has. Your mother has a lot of issues she still needs to deal with, but I can no longer be a part of it. This marriage has exhausted the both of us, mentally and emotionally, and I….I'm sorry, but I just can't do it anymore."

Olga knew her father was firm in his choices, but she still pressed forward.

"But…but I thought you loved mother. That's….that's why you two got married right? How can you...how can you just give up so easily?!"

"Look, Olga, I do….still love your mother. But, just because you love someone doesn't mean you should marry them. Furthermore, our marriage was based on so many things that are just too complicated to try and explain. I understand why your mother is so miserable and depressed, Olga. It took me a while to see things from her side, but I really do get why she is the way she is. But, I will no longer allow her to take her sufferings out on other people. It's not fair to make others miserable because you yourself are."

He watched as his oldest daughter cried brokenly, sobs wracking her body. Bob's heart was also breaking. In truth, he didn't want it to come to this, he honestly didn't. But he no longer had the desire, nor the energy to fix this broken marriage. Olga was still very young, and wasn't even engaged yet, so Bob knew that she couldn't begin to understand what divorce meant to a married couple. But, he couldn't scold her for being so hurt.

Bob wrapped his arms around his daughter, intent on comforting her as much as he could.

"Olga, listen to me. Just because your mother and I will no longer be together does not mean that I will no longer allow you and Helga to see her. She will still be in your life, it's just that some changes are going to be made that everyone will have to get used to."

Olga said nothing, but cried into her father's shoulder, as she realized that the loving supportive family that she grown to admire and love was slowly falling apart.

And there was nothing she could do about it.

Chapter 21 is done! Chapter 22 should be up shortly. I'm still trying to figure out what Arnold's plan should be. Any suggestions are greatly welcomed!


	22. Chapter 22: Bob Tells Helga

Review Responses:

acosta perez jose ramiro

Thank you very much for the review.

And yes, Arnold would be perfect for the careers you mentioned. His plan is actually going to be something simple. You know, something very obvious, but something that won't make him more involved than he already is.

Even though he chose to be involved.

And no, Bob does not believe in therapy sessions. Which will play into future chapters.

Ah shit, I think I just gave Arnold's plan away. But, it won't be that easy!

Nep2uune

Thank you for reviewing.

At this point, it sure doesn't look like their marriage can be saved. It's obvious Bob doesn't want to be married to Miriam anymore; he's had it with her. He still loves her, and he always will, but he's done.

Also, Miriam does feel remorseful, but she is letting her depression cloud her judgment. She feels like she wants to take responsibility, but for her that would mean losing Bob and her daughters. However, that may end up being a price she has to pay.

Another thing, Bob didn't tell Olga she wasn't wanted. Miriam told Helga (indirectly) that she didn't want either Olga or Helga, but Olga wasn't there to hear it, so she doesn't know Miriam's true reasons for leaving. Bob decided to leave that part out when he told Olga about the divorce. He merely told Olga his reasons for the divorce, and why he can't be married to Miriam anymore.

And yes, Olga should have seen this coming. But let's not forget Olga's overall nature in the show. She is a very bubbly person, and wants to believe that everything is ok. Keep in mind that she isn't home for most of the time, so she doesn't see just how bad things really are. When she is home, Bob and Miriam dote on her like no tomorrow. Because of that, she is convinced that everything in her family is wonderful when it's the total opposite.

Nairobi-Harper

Thanks for reviewing.

I don't know if I'll make Arnold and Miriam become friends. He's just there trying to fix situation.

Helga will more than likely tell Olga to suck it up. It's Helga, after all.

Chapter Twenty Two: Bob Tells Helga.

Helga was playing Candy Crush (1) on her cell phone when it vibrated. Closing the level, she looked at her phone to see that she had a new text message. When she opened it up, she saw that it was her father.

_Meet me at Jim's Café for lunch. I have something to tell you._

Helga arched one slender blonde eyebrow at her father's text. This was quite unusual for Bob Pataki. He never asked her to join him for lunch.

She texted back, 'Why? What's up?'

She waited, and a few seconds later, her father replied back that it was best that he tell her in person.

Sighing, Helga got up from her side of Phoebe's bed. She had been staying there for the past few days. After Arnold had found her, and after she told him all of the details, she made her way over to Phoebe's house. She spilled everything as well to her best friend, crying as she said that her mother didn't want her, and that was the reason she left. Phoebe, felling deeply sorry for Helga, as well as very angry with Miriam, had allowed Helga to stay until she was ready to go back home.

She made her way into the shower. After about ten minutes, she was done.

Going over to her suitcase, she pulled out a pair of black denim jeans, a purple tank top, and a black hoodie with silver skulls running up and down the arms. She texted Bob that she was on her way.

As Helga rode the bus, she made a mental note to save up her paychecks so she could buy herself a car. She had her license, but not a car. Furthermore, Bob would rarely let her drive his. Hell, it took an entire month for Helga to convince him to teach her.

When she arrived, she walked into the café to see her father sitting at a table.

"So, Dad, what's going on? Why did you ask to see me?" Helga wasted no time getting down to business.

"I'll tell you in a minute, kid. Why don't you go ahead and order some food?"

Helga listened to her father's tone. It was calm, but had a sense of urgency to it. That confirmed her suspicions. Something was definitely going on.

Before Helga was about to ask her dad anything else, a waiter came over to take their order. Helga ordered the pastrami on rye with water, and Bob a rack of ribs and a Yahoo soda.

The food came 15 minutes later, and Helga wasted no time attacking the sandwich.

"So, how've you been, kid?" Bob asked, trying to open the soon-to-come conversation on a cheerful note.

Which surprised him because his news for her was anything but cheerful.

Helga shrugged.

"Honestly? Could be better."

Bob gave his daughter half a smile. He wasn't the only one who could be doing a lot better. But soon, all that was about to change.

"That's…good…I guess. Uhm…I have something to tell you about your mother."

He watched as Helga stiffened at the word mother. Her face contorted into a deep scowl. It looked like she wasn't over what happened. Not that Bob could blame her.

'Wow, Miriam,' he thought sadly as he gazed at his daughter's face, a mixture of anger and sadness, 'you really fucked up this time.'

"What about Miriam?" It was like pure venom. Bob sometimes thought he should make Helga a security guard at the beeper emporium. She'd be perfect for it.

"Well, I talked to her recently. Before I did that, I did some serious thinking about everything to do with this marriage, as well as how your mother leaving affected all of us."

Helga frowned. Was he dad trying to say that was going to get marriage counseling? That seemed highly unlikely.

"This wasn't an easy decision to make, Helga," Bob continued, "but, it had to be done. Someone needs to be the adult in this situation, and obviously it has to be me. So, I told your mother that I am filing for divorce, and that I want her out of the house by the end of the month."

Helga very nearly dropped her sandwich, her eyes bulging out of their sockets. Did her father just say he was divorcing her mother? This was the last thing he expected. Bob did not strike her as a man who would even consider divorce. He was a man who believed that the life you chose was the one you were stuck with until the day you died, and that whatever life you had was entirely your doing.

"Are you…are you fucking serious?" Bob nodded.

"I am very serious, Helga. I told your sister, and she didn't take the news very well."

"Was she crying?"

"Same as your mother. "

"Well…can't imagine that divorce is easy for anybody."

"True, very true. But sometimes the easiest way isn't the best way. You'll understand that when you're much older."

'I already understand that pretty damn well, Bob.'

Bob ran his fingers through his hair, as he prepared to tell Helga his reasons for wanting to end this marriage.

"I still love your mother, Helga. I really, really do. But I can't do this anymore. Her, us, this marriage, I can't do it. I'm done. Divorce isn't easy, yes, but this is for the best. I no longer want to deal with Miriam's issues. It's high time she starts acting like an adult and takes responsibility for her actions. I just won't be a part of it anymore."

Helga was thinking about her father's divorce. She hated her mother, despised her, for what she did. As far as Helga was concerned, she never wanted to see Miriam ever again. But, she never expected this.

"Well, Miriam doesn't have to like it, I guess," Helga said, leaning back in her chair, "So….what are you going to do if Miriam refuses to sign the papers. She's not going to go down easy, dad."

Bob took a sip of his soda.

"I have it all worked out," he said, "I thought about it. Miriam was so upset when I told her, that I knew there might be some chance that she'll refuse to sign the papers. See Helga, there is something called a contested divorce, which happens when a spouse refuses to sign divorce papers. If that happens, then I will file for petition in a family court. Miriam and I will both have to appear for a hearing, where we both argue our cases. I've already contacted a lawyer and he has drawn up a plan for a winning argument against Miriam. If Miriam does not show up at the hearing, then I am granted the right to file for a default divorce. Either way, I am ending this marriage, for good." (2)

Helga could not help but smile inwardly. For years, this was what she had thought would be the best option. From a very young age, she knew her parents were never meant to be together. In truth, she wished that the divorce wasn't under such dire circumstances, but she knew that everyone would be happy without Miriam around.

Well, except maybe Olga, but Helga didn't count her. Olga was still loyal to Miriam, and both Bob and Helga knew that. However, as much as Olga whined and cried and pouted, like she usually did when things didn't go exactly her way, there was nothing she could do to stop this divorce.

"Of course," Bob continued, "I won't forbid Miriam from seeing her children. I don't think custody or visitation should be an issue since both you and your sister are over the age of 18. You and your sister will still be allowed to see your mother. I know Olga will want to, and Helga? Well, I'll leave that up to you. If you ever find the ability to forgive your mother, I'll be happy. But, if you never see your mother again, just know that I'll understand why."

Helga shrugged. She already made her decision: she did not want to see her mother, ever. Period. Miriam screwed up when she left, and she screwed up even more when she screamed out that she didn't want Helga or Olga.

It was a new change in Helga's life, and she welcomed it with everything she had.

Notes:

I do not own Candy Crush Saga, but for some reason I can see Helga playing this game.

I looked up issues regarding if a spouse refuses to sign divorce papers. If anyone has any expertise on the terms mentioned in the chapter, and if I used them the wrong way, please let me know so that I can correct them.

Thank you for reading and reviewing!


	23. Chapter 23: Arnold's Plan

Review Responses:

Nep2uune

Thank you very much for reviewing.

No, divorce is never an easy thing. Divorce isn't something that a couple, or a spouse in general just jumps into deciding. Bob is thinking of his happiness, yes, but he's also refusing to put up with Miriam's bullshit.

The J.A.M. a.k.a. Numbuh i

Thanks for the review.

Helga is not going to get a restraining order against her mother. She doesn't want to take any legal action against Miriam. She just wants her mom out of her life, for good. Even without a restraining order, Helga can still refuse to have any and all contact with her mom.

acosta perez jose ramiro

Thanks for reviewing.

I hope I got the legal terms correctly.

Nairobi-Harper

Thank you for the review.

I agree with you. Bob and Miriam should have gotten divorced in the show. I'm actually surprised that marriage lasted for as long as it did.

There will be no suicides in this story. Miriam is not going to kill herself.

Chapter Twenty Three: Arnold's Plan and Olga's Dilemma.

The phone rang at the Pataki house. Miriam, who had been in the kitchen making herself a cup of tea, answered it.

"Hello?"

"Mrs. Pataki? It's me, Arnold."

"Oh, hello!"

"Mrs. Pataki, I've finally come up with an idea that could help you prevent this divorce. It's very simple, but it's about the only thing I can do without getting too involved."

Too be honest, Arnold was now having second thoughts. What was he doing, even getting in the middle of a divorce in the first place? Was he stupid? Still, he promised Miriam he'd help her, and he wasn't about to break that promise.

"You…you have an idea? What is it? What is it?" Miriam asked frantically. She would do anything to make sure this divorce did not happen.

"I found a marriage therapist downtown on 4th and Chevy Street. I think you and Bob should set up and appointment with them, and try to work this out. I should also tell you, Mrs. Pataki, that this is as far as I go. It's up to you to make the phone call, and after that, you're on your own. Here, let me give you the number."

Miriam grabbed a piece of paper and pencil, and carefully jotted down the number Arnold gave her: (222) 555-6789-444.

Miriam thanked Arnold, and ended the call.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Helga had just gotten out of the shower and dressed for her day with Phoebe at the movies, when all of a sudden she heard an annoyingly loud sob coming from Olga's room.

With the curious nature that she had been born with, Helga walked up to her sister's room.

There was Olga, sitting on her bed, sobbing. Loudly. Her normally neat and tidy blonde hair was messy, and her mascara and eyeliner mixed in with her tears, and trailed down her face.

Helga rolled her eyes.

"What's up with you?" She asked, even though she didn't truly care.

Olga blew her nose on her handkerchief, and looked up at her younger sister.

"Oh, Helga! I just got…I just g…got…the most awful…awful...n...news!"

"What? You mean dad planning to divorce Miriam? Yeah, I got the news too." She said nonchalantly.

Olga buried her face into her hands, and cried even louder, to which Helga's only response was to roll her eyes.

"This is the most…selfish…selfish thing that daddy has ever done! I can't believe he would do this us! Does he…does he even care, Helga! This divorce is so wrong! I'm going to…I'm going to try and talk daddy out of this divorce!"

Helga sighed in frustration. She absolutely hated it when she had to talk sense into her older sister. Olga always had a bad habit of crying when things did not go exactly the way she wanted. She wanted the entire family to stay together, to be happy again. It was really no surprise to Helga that her sister was throwing a fit.

The younger blonde walked into her sister's room, but did not bother to sit down.

"Look Olga. I get that you still love Miriam, and you know what? That's totally fine. But you calling dad selfish is totally unfair. In case you forgot, dad wasn't the one who used misery and depression as an excuse to abandon responsibilities as a parent, and dad wasn't the one who left because it got too hard. I'm glad dad is divorcing that wretched woman, and you can't see the bigger picture, then that's your problem, not mine. Furthermore, there is nothing you can do about this divorce. In case you forgot, this is all Miriam's fault. If she wasn't so fucking selfish, none of this would be happening! This divorce is happening, so just suck it up and deal with it!"

She had decided to keep the truth about Miriam's departure out for Olga's sake. It wasn't because she cared; she just didn't want to deal with her sister throwing an even bigger sob fit than she already was.

She saw Olga's eyes water, and her lips quiver violently. Then, she let out a long and loud wail.

"Oh, my god! This is…this is the worst thing that could ever happen to me!"

If at all possible, Helga's eyes would have rolled right out of their sockets. Criminy, was her sister serious?!

"Oh, yes, Olga. Yes. It's not the fact that we both grew up with an irresponsible and selfish alcoholic. It's not the fact that Miriam abandoned us. No, this. THIS is the worst thing that could happen to you. Forget how everyone else feels about the situation. You know what? Maybe you and Miriam belong together. In fact, why don't you go live with her after the divorce is finalized?"

She didn't say anything else as her sister continued to cry. Instead, she just shut the door to Olga's room. She then fished out her phone, and texted Phoebe that she was on her way.

As she walked down the stairs, she made a purpose to avoid her mother at all costs.

It didn't matter though. Pretty soon, Miriam and Bob's marriage would be over.

And Helga couldn't be happier.

Thank you very much for reading everybody! Chapter twenty four should be up soon.

Yes, Arnold's plan is so simple, you guys might want to slap me for it. But, in my defense, besides the fact that he shouldn't have even bothered in the first place, it seemed like the most realistic thing for him to do, without getting even more involved than he already is. He did tell Miriam that after the phone call her had with her, she was entirely on her own.

Besides, we all know that if he actually tried to stop the divorce himself, as in go farther than what he already did, Helga would probably throttle him into the middle of next week.

Yep, she wants this divorce to happen. Probably more so than her father.

This story is going to get even more dramatic in later chapters, so stay tuned!


	24. Chapter 24: The Divorce Papers

Review Responses:

Nep2uune:

Thank you very much for reviewing.

No, Arnold never should have gotten involved in the first place, no matter how good his intentions were. I really wanted him to have a part in the story, and this is what I came up with.

Also, Olga has always struck me as being childish, despite being the oldest of the two sisters. I think it's also because Olga is so used to being doted on and getting her way.

Nairobi-Harper:

Thanks for reviewing.

I think the real question is: will Arnold's plan even work. Also, Helga is not going to Olga the truth. Olga would most likely not believe her.

acosta perez jose ramiro:

Thanks for the review.

Yes, Arnold's plan is so simple, it's not even funny. However, Bob may have considered it at first, but in the end, he decided that he didn't want to deal with therapists and counseling. He doesn't want to be married to Miriam anymore.

Chapter Twenty four: The Divorce Papers Have Arrived!

Miriam sat at the kitchen table, a coffee mug held tightly in her hands.

She began thinking about Arnold's suggestion, to call a marriage counselor. It was so simple, that Miriam honestly wondered if it would work. She knew she could no longer call on Arnold for help, as he told her that after he gave her the phone number she was entirely on her own. Could she really take charge like this? She had never been a very dominating person after she got married to Bob, and instead took on the role of passive and submissive wife.

She was suddenly jolted out of her thoughts when something was slammed down right in front of her, interrupting the lovely silence.

Surprised at the force, she looked up to see her husband, staring down at her with no emotions whatsoever.

"Bob? What…what is this?" she asked, as she eyed her husband curiously.

Bob merely gave her a small and careless shrug.

"They're divorce papers, Miriam. You have exactly 24 hours to sign them, and I want them on my desk by this time tomorrow. I also think you should start looking for a new place to live. I want you out of this house before the divorce is finalized."

Miriam just stared back at her husband, not knowing what to say.

"We'll discuss property rights and who gets what, later. Just…just make sure you sign the papers."

He didn't even give her a chance to speak, or to try and change his mind, he just left the kitchen.

As Miriam stared at the divorce papers, she become very sad. But then, she became very angry.

If it were at all possible for Miriam to set those papers on fire just by glaring at then, she would do it. She wanted nothing more than to rip them to shreds, throw them in Bob Pataki's face, all the while saying, "this is what I think of your fucking divorce!"

Miriam wished that Bob was here so she could throw something at him. How dare Bob do this to her? Here she was, wanting to rebuild her relationships with her husband and children. Here she was, intent on being a better wife and mother, as well as righting the wrongs she committed, and that bastard just slapped divorce papers in her face!

'No!' she thought, 'I won't sign these. I won't sign these damn things! Bob has no right to accuse me of running away when he is now doing the exact same thing.'

She refused to allow her husband to divorce her, no matter what. She wanted to make this marriage work, and she would show him just how serious she was.

Reaching into her dress pocket, she pulled out the piece of paper with the phone number that Arnold had given her.

Grabbing the phone off the wall, she pressed the numbers, and listened as it began to ring.

After a short moment, someone picked up, asking they would be assisting their caller.

Miriam cleared her throat.

"Yes, uhm…My name is Miriam Pataki, and my husband is planning to get a divorce. I really need help, and I would like to set up an appointment with the marriage counselor that works in your building. Please….I'm….I'm running out of time."

And Miriam has made an appointment to get marriage counseling for her and Bob. The only question is, will Bob accept.

Lol, you all probably know the answer to that.

Thank you very much for reading and reviewing!


	25. Chapter 25: Bob's Refusal, Miriam's Plea

Review Responses:

Nairobi-Harper

Thank you very much for the review.

Yes, there is no chance in hell Bob would go for the marriage counseling idea. Not only does he not believe in therapy, but he no longer wants to be married.

LovekyEverywhere

Thanks for the review.

In some states, yes, marriage counseling is required before going ahead with a divorce.

However, according to Craig Bartlett, Hillwood is actually supposed to be based on the city of Seattle, (even though I have heard that New York and Portland were used as inspirations as well).

I did some research, and from what I found out/my understanding is that the state of Washington (where the city of Seattle is located) does not require a couple to attend marriage counseling before getting a divorce. That being said, though, there are certain requirements that do need to be met: both spouses must be legal residents of the state of Washington, and they both had to have been living in Washington, at the same time, that is, on the date that the petition for the divorce was filed.

I am still doing research on divorce laws and what not, though. This story may end up over exaggerating certain things, but I am going to do my best to make sure that none of it is outright false.

Nep2uune

Thank you very much for the review.

You know something? I'm the one writing this story, and even I'm wondering why I didn't just serve her with divorce papers sometime during those ten years.

And yes, Bob does know that Miriam is just as unhappy as he is. I don't think they were ever truly happy in the later years of their marriage (after Olga and Helga were born). That is one of the reasons why he wants to end the marriage.

acosta perez jose ramiro

Thank you very much for the review.

It would take more than just a miracle to get Bob to agree to see a counselor. Then again, it didn't take much for him to ditch his boorish lifestyle and live in a yurt, even though by the end of that episode he was back to being the same old Bob Pataki.

Chapter Twenty Five: Bob's Refusal, Miriam's Plea.

Miriam stared at the calendar on the kitchen wall. It had been a little over a week since she called the marriage counselor, and so far she hadn't received a word back. Shouldn't she be getting that second confirmation call by now?

Getting up from her place on the couch, she walked over to the calendar and gazed at it, to make sure that she wasn't mistaken when she was looking at today's date.

Sure enough, it had been a little over a week, and Miriam was getting quite worried. After all, this could be her one and only chance to convince Bob that their marriage was worth saving! If this failed, then she didn't know what else to do.

As she was about to double check the dates by counting the little squares one by one, when suddenly a hand reached out and tore the calendar of the wall. The act itself caused Miriam to shriek out, and jump back.

Whirling around, she came face to face with husband, who was holding the calendar and glaring at her.

"A marriage counselor called, Miriam," he said, "Said something about an appointment for a therapy session. Well, I'm just letting you know that I cancelled it. I am not going to some therapy session led by some crackpot, Miriam. "

Miriam looked at her husband with desperation.

"Bob, please," she said urgently, "why won't you just reconsider? I'm very sure that if we just saw somebody and talked about our issues, we could get this marriage to a healthier level. I'm sure that it can still be saved."

"You don't seem to understand, wife, that I don't want to save it. God, how many times do I have to spell it out for you? I'm done! I've had enough! I don't want to be in this marriage anymore."

Miriam quickly began searching for something, anything, that could stall her husband's wishes to finalize this divorce. Then, an idea popped into her head.

"Well B," she said in a proud voice, "I hate to break it to you, but in some states marriage counseling is required before divorce. Furthermore, Washington state…"

"Does not require couples to attend marriage counseling before divorce," Bob cut Miriam off before she could even try to enjoy her newfound victory.

"I thought that you would consider something like that," he continued, "So I did my own research, and had my lawyers look into it for me. Washington state does not require a couple to attend marriage counseling before getting a divorce."

Miriam could not believe what she was hearing. Never in her wildest dreams did she ever imagine that her own husband, the man that she had fallen madly in love with so many years ago, was now trying to do everything in his power to end their marriage!

Still, she had to fight back. She had to show Bob that she still loved him, and really wanted to make an effort to be a better wife and mother.

As Bob was walking away, no longer interested in the conversation, Miriam briskly walked after him, continuing to protest.

"Bob…Bob, please….please, just listen…will you just listen to me? I know you're angry, but this talk of divorce, it's obvious that you're not thinking straight. You're just trying to punish me for leaving, and that I don't find very fair. If we could both just start thinking positively and rationally, then I'm sure we can…."

Bob whirled around.

"No, Miriam. I'm done thinking. I've made up my mind. I understand that you are upset, I really, really do, but please, PLEASE! Don't make this any harder than it already is!"

Miriam wanted nothing more than to slap her husband right then and there. She was trying to save the marriage, but there she was being accused of making everything difficult.

"I am not trying to make anything difficult!" She snapped, placing her hands on her hips, "You are the one who is being unreasonable! You won't even try!"

That did it for Bob Pataki. He was not going to let his wife emotionally manipulate him.

"Now that statement is COMPLETELY unfair, Miriam. You know what, fine. Let's go over some of my grounds for divorcing you right now. First reason: you LEFT. You didn't tell us where you were going, what you were doing, who you were with, you just acted so selfishly and so irresponsibly. Second reason, is that you just disappearing like that caused so much damage. I suddenly found myself a single father, and I didn't even know what the fuck to do, or when to even begin! You could have at least had the decency to turn only my life into living twisted hell, but instead, you also forced our children to suffer emotionally and mentally, you FORCED them into such devastation, just so you could be happy, and yet there you stand, with the actual nerve to call me unreasonable?! I've already told you that I have made up my mind, and I am getting this divorce EVEN IF I HAVE TO PAY OFF THE GODDAMN JUDGE TO DO IT!" (1)

"FINE THEN!" Miriam shot back, "Fine! Don't go to marriage counseling with me, Bob. You may not be required to attend it, but let me tell you this right now: I will NEVER sign those divorce papers. NEVER! You'll have to force me to within inch of my life before I'd ever let you see my signature on those papers! I am still your wife, and I will do whatever it takes to remain your wife."

It was then that Miriam saw her husband look at her with such venom. It was so intense that she actually gasped.

"Don't push me, Miriam," he said dangerously, "I am the last person you want to mess with right now." (2)

And with that, Bob left his wife, completely ignoring the loud thump on the floor.

Miriam had fallen to her knees, a hand clapped to her mouth, as she took in her husband's last words to her.

Notes:

Yes, I understand that you can't pay off a judge to get them to do what you want. It just sounded like something Bob would say if he was really pissed off, which, if you couldn't tell, he was.

Sounds like a threat right? In reality, Bob would never intentionally hurt Miriam. He's just absolutely had it with her, and because she continues to make the situation more difficult, the angrier he gets. He wants Miriam to agree to sign the papers, so they can both be free of each other as quickly as possible, but knows that Miriam refusing to sign the divorce papers could create more problems that he doesn't want, nor has to energy, to deal with.

Chapter Twenty six should be up by next weekend. Either Friday or Saturday.


	26. Chapter 26: Olga's Despair

Decided to update early, instead of this weekend.

Review Responses:

acosta perez jose ramiro

Thank you very much for reviewing.

Yes, Bob did have some good points. However, divorce is hard for everybody involved. I actually have a few friends who are going through a divorce right now.

However, by refusing to sign the papers, I think Miriam is the one who is making things difficult.

LovekyEverywhere

Thanks very much for the review.

Bob does love Miriam, and he isn't out to intentionally hurt her, or make her feel bad.

As I've said before in other review responses, Bob just wants out. He's already met with some lawyers, but that's only to make sure that that he gets the divorce.

Yes, I have been doing my research on divorce in the state of Washington. Divorce laws differ from state to state. I might exaggerate a little bit, but I am still going to be doing my research. There's a difference between spicing something up and just outright lying.

Nairobi-Harper

Thanks for reviewing.

I think pretty much everybody reading this story can totally understand Bob's point of view. After all, Miriam was the one who left. In this story, Miriam is the one who can't seem to take any responsibility, and Bob is done with the marriage. If he himself could sign both their names on the divorce papers, without Miriam being involved, he would.

Nep2uune

Thank you for the review.

Before any bombs are dropped, I still need to do some research about divorce laws in the state of Washington. However, as I said to one reviewer, I might spice things up a little bit. I already have plans thought out for the ending of this story.

And Miriam is fighting, because she believes that she deserves a second chance. She believes that this marriage can work out, but Bob doesn't. And when you have one spouse wanting a divorce, and then one spouse refusing to the sign the papers, I've heard it can create a lot of problems.

starfiction123

Aww, thank you so much! I'm very glad you're enjoying my fic!

Chapter twenty six: Olga's Despair.

Miriam lay on the bed that she shared with her husband. It was empty right now, what with Bob being at work and all.

She had asked him what he wanted for dinner. He told her that he didn't have a preference, and to "just order out."

Despite the divorce, they still tried to remain civil to each other around the house. Especially when their daughter's were around.

Miriam was watching TV. More like flipping through the channels, than actually watching. There didn't appear to be anything interesting on, and she could barely hold her attention on one channel for more than two minutes.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Olga came flying into the room, sobbing. Miriam looked up at her daughter in bewilderment, and immediately shut off the TV.

"Olga, honey!" Miriam exclaimed, as Olga threw herself into her mother's arms, "What's wrong? What's the matter?"

Miriam waited a few moments for her daughter to calm down.

After a while, Olga tearfully told her mother that their (their, being Helga and Olga) father was planning to divorce her (Miriam, that is), and demanded to know if it was true.

Miriam stared at her daughter. Finally, she nodded, confirming Olga's fears.

The young blonde woman's tears spilled even harder as she hugged her mother once again.

Olga did not want to believe it. She doubted that her father would ever lie about something like this, and Helga wouldn't lie either if it was true. She just hoped, God did she hope, that it wasn't. She desperately wanted to believe that the divorce was just brought out in a fit of anger, and truly meant nothing.

Olga pulled away from her mother, and started to stammer horribly, telling the older woman that she had to fight this, no matter what.

"You can't….agree with this, mother! You can't even begin to think that this divorce is right or it's what you and daddy need! You can't si…sign those papers, you just can't! I….I won't let you! I know! You can…you can take daddy to marriage counseling! You can…you can talk to him!"

Miriam smiled sadly at her daughter, and ran her fingers through Olga's hair.

"I did set up an appointment with a marriage counselor, Olga," she said, but then sighed, "but…your father refuses to go….hold on a second, sweetie, let me explain something to you. Marriage counseling before a divorce in the state of Washington is not mandatory. Your father does not have to attend it if he doesn't want to. I couldn't force him, even if I tried."

Olga's eyes widened in shock. Her mother wasn't saying what she thought she was saying?!

"So…so does that mean…you're…you're giving in? You're giving up?! No! No I won't let you!"

"I'm not giving up, honey," Miriam said, "I'm going to whatever I can to change your father's mind."

"Do you…do you want me to look up any legal matters? I can, I have a friend who's a lawyer! They…they can find a loophole, they can stop this….they can…."

Miriam placed a single finger on her daughter's mouth, silencing her.

"I know that you love me and want to make sure that I am ok, Olga. But, this is between me and your father. It has nothing to do with you, and it has nothing to do with your sister. I've already messed up big time with a lot of things, and the last thing I want is to destroy anything more by involving my own two children. I know you're just looking out for me, Olga, and I appreciate that. But this, sweetie, this is something that you need to stay out of."

Olga sniffed, clearly disappointed by what her mother was saying. There had to be something she could do. There just had to be!

"Is there…what do you want me to do? What can I do? What can I do to stop this?" Olga sobbed, placing her head in her mother's lap.

Miriam ran both her hands through her daughter's hair.

"I don't want you to do anything, Olga. Furthermore, there is nothing you can do. As I said, this is between me and your father. It has nothing to do with you or Helga."

It was true. The last thing she wanted was to involve her children. They've suffered enough, but with this divorce, more suffering would most likely ensue. However, involving the children would be worse.

Divorces could be very messy and complicated. But, if there was one thing that a parent did not do, it was involve their child. If any parent did that, then they were nothing more than spineless cowards.

Olga lifted her head from her mother's lap just enough to look at her.

"But, Helga is saying that this divorce is a good thing, that it should happen! How…how can she say something like that?! How can she?!"

Olga simply could not understand how her sister would be ok with this divorce. She knew very well of Helga's hatred towards their mother, but that still did not mean that divorce was the answer!

""That's your sister's opinion, honey, and she has every right to believe that, just as much as you have the right to disagree with it," Miriam responded.

Olga stared at her mother. After a few moments, she sighed. She knew her mother was right. There was nothing she could do, and interfering would cause more damage. There was nothing she could do.

But, that did not mean that she couldn't stay loyal to her mother. It did not mean that her love for her mother had to stop.

But, she would never ever agree with this divorce. Never in a million years.

Olga hugged her mom. It was a silent hug, but it told Miriam all she needed to know.

After her daughter left, Miriam began to think. She truly did not want this divorce, and she would do everything she could to make her husband change his mind.

But, Bib Bob Pataki was a force to be reckoned with. Even as his wife, Miriam had to admit that. Bob always had a force about him, even around the time that they had first met. He was not the type of person to back down from anything without a fight. He would stand his ground, no matter what.

The only question was though, would she be strong enough to stand her ground?

And that's chapter twenty six! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Chapter twenty seven will up soon (hopefully).

Also, I stand by what I say when it comes to divorce. If two parents are getting a divorce, I do not care what the circumstances are. You NEVER, EVER involve your children. Yes, it will affect the child in many ways, but I've heard that some parents will actually pit their children against each other (as in, one parent tries to get the child on their side). That, in my opinion, is a horrible and sick thing to do.


	27. Chapter 27: Arnold's Gut Feeling

Review Responses:

Nep2uune

Thank you very much for reviewing.

I think although nobody on here has very much sympathy for Miriam because everything that she has done, but people also understand why she doesn't want the divorce. She wants a second chance, but the thing is, there are consequences to your actions.

Also, Bob letting Miriam do her thing for ten years, it was more like he really didn't have a choice. He couldn't force her to come home. During those ten years, Bob did a lot of thinking about this marriage. At first, he wanted to make it work, but it just got to be too much for him. There's only so much a person can take.

acosta perez jose ramiro

Thanks for the review.

Exactly why I had Miriam tell Olga not to get involved. Divorce should be between the parents. The children should not be involved in any way by the parents. It's already difficult enough for the children, but trying to use the child as ammunition against a parent is sick and awful, not to mention unfair and cruel to the child. Miriam may have screwed up on a lot of things, but she would never do that.

Nairobi-Harper

Thank you very much.

Olga's feelings about the divorce are very understandable. In many cases, divorce can be a very devastating thing. Olga, however, now realizes that although she every right to feel the way she does, and that she can still love, spend time with, and be loyal to her mother, she has no say in whether or not her parents get a divorce. She's not happy with it, but there is nothing she can do about it.

Chapter Twenty Seven: Arnold's Gut Feeling.

Arnold walked into a café to see Helga, sitting by herself in a booth. On one side of her was a sandwich, and on the other side was a soda In front of her sat her laptop, and she was typing away furiously, a scowl of concentration etched into her fair features.

"Hey, Helga," he says, "mind if I join you for a bit? I'm meeting Gerald here and then we're going off to the library."

Arnold could not understand why they couldn't just meet at the library in the first place, but oh well.

Helga shrugged, "Doesn't bother me."

Arnold sat himself across from Helga. The cushion of the seat seemed to sink deeply under his weight. How old were these seats, anyway?

"So," Arnold attempted to start a conversation with the blonde sitting across from him, "how's it going?"

"It's going," Helga replied, still typing away, "I'm working on a paper for my history class. My instructor sure has the most annoying habit of sending assignments out like this at the last minute. I still don't know how anyone can do research and write a ten paged paper in two days."

Arnold gave her a sad smile. Helga seemed to have the worst luck with teachers. He didn't know why, though. She attended class on a regular basis, except for the occasional ditching, which every college student did every once in a while, and she got good grades on her papers and exams.

"Well, if I'm bothering you, I can leave," the blonde boy offered. Helga waved her hand dismissively, indicating that he wasn't giving her any trouble at all.

"No worries, football head," she replied, smiling, "besides, I'm about to take a break anyway."

"Oh. Well, that's cool. What are you writing about?"

"An analyzation of the Declaration of Independence. My instructor wants us to talk about who wrote it, who was involved, why it was written, what the events were leading up to the Declaration, why it's important, and all that jazz. And then, she wants us to analyze the amendments, pick five of them, and interpret it in a way as if we don't live in the United States."

Arnold blinked.

"Wow. That's…weird."

"Yeah, tell me about it. The amendments are pretty straight forward, and I sometimes think my instructor is crazy. She also assigned another paper due next week, where I have to pick a historical figure, and write a letter to a politician from today about any political issue I so choose. And when she says historical, she meant that the person cannot be alive. How am I supposed to get into the mind of a dead person? Huh? Wanna tell me, football head?"

Arnold shrugged, and decided to change the conversation.

"So," he began, "how's everything going at your place?"

For the first time in weeks, Arnold saw Helga give a genuine smile.

"It's better than ever, actually," she said.

Arnold knew better than to voice his thoughts on that. If Helga ever found out what he did, she would probably kill him.

"Really?" he exclaimed, trying to act as surprised as possible, as if he didn't go over to Helga's house to talk to her mom when nobody was around, "that's great, Helga! It sounds like your parents must have worked something out, if it's better than ever."

This was it. Helga was about to tell him that his plan worked. Well, actually, she was going to tell him that her parents decided on seeing a marriage counselor, and were going to try and work on the marriage. His plan was a success!

"Oh, they worked something out, alright," Helga replied, folding her arms, "Turns out, my parents are getting a divorce. Well, actually, my dad wants the divorce. Miriam? Eh, not so much."

Wait, what?

Divorce? What?

But…the plan….the phone calls….the marriage counselor….what?

Arnold's eyes widened in shock. Helga said that everything was better than ever! Did Miriam not call the marriage counselor? Was that a possibility?

Still, he decided his safest bet was to continue acting surprised, but not too surprised, in case Helga suspected anything. He would like to live to see another day intact, after all.

"Helga, that's….that's terrible! I'm so sorry!"

Yes, concern was good. He just had to make sure his tone didn't sound too desperate or disappointed.

Helga scoffed at the apology.

"Pfft….I'm not."

"Did…did your parents suggest seeing somebody before your dad said he wanted a divorce? Like a marriage counselor?"

Arnold mentally slapped himself. Marriage counselor? Was he serious right now? He had better play his cards right, or Helga would find out. And he did not want to be on the receiving end of her anger.

All those years of tormenting him? That was just Helga being Helga. She never showed any genuine anger towards him, except for the occasional name calling. No, Helga could be quite terrifying when she was angry.

"Yeah, they did," she responded, "Well, actually, Miriam suggested it, but my dad refused. Furthermore, seeing a marriage counselor before a divorce is not required in the state of Washington. My dad doesn't have to see a counselor if he doesn't want to. But from what I heard, they had a huge fight about it."

It didn't take Arnold long to put the pieces together. Miriam called the marriage counselor, and set up an appointment. Bob must have found out about it somehow, looked up marriage laws on the internet, and found out that marriage counseling wasn't required, and cancelled the appointment. That seemed like the most logical thing that happened.

"I'm really sorry to hear that Helga," he said again, "but…did your dad even consider it? I mean, did he even bother to talk to your mom about it?"

In all honesty, Arnold did not know why he felt so disappointed. He knew deep down that there was still the chance that his plan would not work

Helga sighed deeply. She knew Arnold was just trying to help, but this was getting annoying.

"Look, Arnold, I know you're just trying to help, I really do. But, you don't know my family, you don't know how broken we are. Yes, some things can be fixed, but others can't, and my family is one of them. You don't seem to get it, do you? Of all the years they've been married, Bob and Miriam have been miserable. My dad doesn't want to work on the marriage, and he and I have both reached our breaking points. He doesn't want to be involved in a marriage where two people are constantly fighting because one of them can't seem to take any responsibility and instead just blames other people for their shit, and I don't want to have to deal with it anymore, either. We're both fed up, Arnold."

"But, Helga….."

"I get it, Football Head, nobody likes divorce. No kid wants to see their parents get divorced, but in case you haven't noticed, I'm not like other kids. Bob and Miriam divorcing is the best thing that could have ever happened to this family."

Arnold begins to take in what Helga said. Before he can give a response, he felt something slap him in his back He looked up to see Gerald, smiling down at him, his book bag slung over his left shoulder.

Arnold bid Helga goodbye, and he and Gerald headed off to the library.

As they were walking, Arnold began telling Gerald that Bob and Miriam Pataki were getting a divorce.

"Really?" Gerald said, "I'm not surprised."

"You're….you're not?"

"Not in the least. Well, actually, I'm surprised that it took this long. Come on, man. I may not know a lot about Helga's family, but I've seen them enough to see what a fail that marriage was from all the study sessions at her house."

This was true. Arnold and Gerald did go over to Helga's house to study for tests and work on group projects in their younger days.

Arnold sighed.

"I just feel so bad, Gerald. I mean, I went over to Helga's house to talk to her mom about what was going on and…"

Gerald stopped dead in his tracks.

"Hold up, dude You did what?"

Arnold offered a sheepish grin. Might as well come clean and admit what he did. Besides, he knew Gerald would never tell anybody.

"Well, I kind of…told her…..Miriam that is…that I would…help her out."

"I repeat: you did what?"

And Arnold began telling Gerald about his phone calls with Helga's mother. How he went over to her house when nobody was around. How he suggested Miriam call a marriage counselor.

And as Gerald listened, his frown disappeared. He knew that Arnold only had the best intentions, and was just trying to help. He knew that Arnold meant well, but this had to have been one of the stupidest things he had ever done.

Probably right up there with the time he tried to convince Wolfgang and Ludwig to share the vacant lot, or as it was so fondly known, Gerald Field.

"I just wish there was something I could do," Arnold continued sadly.

"Wait, you're not thinking about what I think you're thinking about?" Gerald eyed Arnold carefully and suspiciously.

"Well, if I could just talk to Mr. Pataki, I'm sure he'd…"

Gerald shook his head. Sometime that boy was way too optimistic for his own good.

"Don't even think about it. You never should have involved yourself in the first place!"

"I know, I know, but…" Gerald held up a hand, silencing the blonde boy in front of him.

"But nothing! Look, dude, I know that you're just trying to help, but there are some things you do not get involved in, and divorce is one of them. You're lucky Helga doesn't know about what you did. She'll pulverize you!"

Arnold stayed silent for a bit, and then, with a sigh, told Gerald that he was right. He may have been trying to help, but it wasn't his place to even try to help in the first place. This was between Bob and Miriam, and it was Helga's family. He had no business with it, whatsoever. His previous idea about talking to Bob, was shot down. He already did what he did, and if he was smart, he would pull out right away.

And he had every intentions of doing that. He didn't like the fact that Helga's parents were getting a divorce, which was something he couldn't explain. It wasn't his marriage that was falling apart, and it wasn't his life.

Still, as Arnold and Gerald entered the library, Arnold couldn't help but get a very rotten feeling deep down in the pit of his gut. Something told him that this divorce would be more difficult than normal, more difficult than anyone could imagine.

And chapter twenty seven is done! I'll try to upload chapter twenty eight by this weekend, but no promises. I'm about to go on Spring Break, but it's not really a break, because I have to: study for a midterm exam, write a ten paged literature review, a five paged annotated bibliography, write five journal entries, work on my internship, and start writing my 30 paged senior paper. I'm not even kidding, this is everything I have to do over Spring Break.

And it sucks, because the last time I was on Spring Break, I was in Japan. Freaking Japan! How awesome is that?

Great, I'm crying now. I WANNA GO BACK SOOOOO BAAAAAAAD!

Ok, enough of that. Now, what are Arnold's feelings? Will Miriam give in and allow Bob his divorce, or will she continue to fight him on it? You'll find out….later.


	28. Chapter 28: Miriam Threatens Bob

Review Responses:

acosta perez jose ramiro

Thank you very much for reviewing.

It IS in Arnold's nature to help, you're absolutely right. However, he's starting to realize that this is something that Bob and Miriam have to figure out. He's not going to do anything anymore, but he'll still be in the story.

Nairobi-Harper

Thanks for reviewing.

Lol, yes, Spring Break is finally here! I think there could be a bit of ArnoldxHelga in this story, but I don't want to make it too romantic.

However…

….

I think Arnold and Gerald have met Olga in one of the episodes, but not too sure.

Nep2uune

Thank you for reviewing.

Here's the thing: yes, Bob would not be very nice to Arnold. However, here's the thing: Arnold is not going to go talk to Bob, and he is not going to talk to Miriam, either. Gerald finally talked some sense into him: that he needs to stay out of it.

Chapter Twenty Eight: Miriam Threatens Bob

Bob Pataki walked into the kitchen to heat up some food, when he saw his wife leaning over the counter, another one of her famous smoothies clutched in her hand.

'So,' Bob thought, 'She still does that.'

"Still haven't gotten that thing of yours under control, have you?" he asked her nonchalantly.

Miriam shrugged while taking a large gulp.

"I really don't see how that's any of your business," she said, taking another sip.

Bob shook his head in disgust. Even during the ten years that she was gone, Miriam still hadn't decided to get help for her alcoholism. He never talked to her about it though, figured it was her problem.

Still, it really disgusted him. In a way, she was proving to him that she was type of person who would much rather bitch about her life, than actually do something about it. She just didn't realize it.

Or maybe, she did not want to realize it. Ever since she came back, they had grown quite distant from each other. In fact, it sounded weird and unnatural for him to even call her what she was, his wife. She wasn't his wife, as he was starting to believe. She was some stranger. A stranger that just waltzed back into his home, but she looked so much like Miriam.

But, he didn't see her that way. Not anymore.

"Why haven't you signed the divorce papers?" He asked her warily. She looks up at him, her face red, and she was breathing heavily, obviously drunk. Bob began to wonder just how many of those smoothies did she have?

"It's because I refuse to," she said, like she was out of breath, "I don't believe that this divorce is the answer, and I can prove it to you, if you'd just give me the chance. I know we can work this out…if you would just…agree to try."

She watched as her husband let out a deep sigh. Bob was beginning to get very frustrated. Just how long was she going to keep this save the marriage bullshit up?

"How many times do I have to tell you, Miriam? How many times? That I don't want to work on this marriage. If you had even bothered to tell me what you were going through, I would have listened, if you were truly that unhappy. But, see? That's the problem. You don't tell me anything, and yet you expect everything to go back to the way it was, before you left. It can't happen, Miriam."

"Oh, my god, don't you get it?" Miriam asked angrily, "I wasn't thinking straight when I left! Something just came over me, and…."

"Oh, something came over you, huh?"

"Yes, something came over me. I was so blinded by my depression, that I didn't know what to do? Can't you understand? I didn't mean to put this family through hell, but I did not know what to do!"

"I know you did not mean to hurt us. I know you didn't mean to put us through the hell that you did, but the fact of the matter is, you still did it. You could have gotten help, and I would have understood. I admit that I hate the idea of therapists and counseling, but if you were really that desperate, I wouldn't have stopped you, and you damn well know that! But instead, you took the easy

Miriam looked at him with such disgust.

"The easy way out?" She asked with disbelief, "You honestly think that what I did was the easy way out? I STRUGGLED with that decision, Bob! It was the hardest decision I EVER had to make!"

"Ha! You must not have struggled hard enough, considering that you packed your bags, left without so much as a goodbye, and only came back to us when it was convenient for you! You've though of nobody but yourself this entire time!"

"And what about you?!" She fired back, "You're the selfish one, wanting this divorce so just so that you can be happy!"

That did it.

"Oh. Don't you fucking DARE to talk to me about being selfish. You LEFT, Miriam. You didn't tell us where you were going, where you were, or what you were even doing. You just packed your GODDAMNED BAGS, AND LEFT ME TO PICK UP THE FUCKING PIECES! Do you have ANY idea the damage that you caused our kids? ESPECIALLY HELGA!? That kid had nightmares for weeks!"

Miriam blinked, quite taken aback.

"Wha…what?"

"Oh, you didn't know? Well, I'm not surprised. After you left, that kid barely slept and barely ate. She lost so much weight that I had to take her to the damn doctors to get her some help. Oh sure, she's healthy now, but the damage YOU caused, is still there. And then, you just decide to come back, like nothing ever happened. And now, you want to continue this sham of a marriage. You only want what's best for you Miriam, well I'm sorry, but I'm not having it. So don't you FUCKING DARE CALL ME SELFISH! YOU'RE THE MOST SELFISH PERSON I KNOW! What kind of a mother just leaves her family the way you did? What kind of a mother forces her own children to make devastating sacrifices, just so she can be happy? I get that you were unhappy, and I can understand why, but what about your kids, Miriam? WHAT ABOUT HELGA AND OLGA?"

Her lip stung and she could taste the copper liquid as she bit it. Miriam had no idea that Helga suffered from this that badly. Deep inside, she felt worse than garbage. Bob was right, she was truly a very selfish person! God, how could she have been so blind?

But, she had to stay strong. She had to prove that she was fit to be a wife and a mother, that she deserved another chance.

And, she had an idea. And idea, that just came to her. Just like that.

She had been married to Bob Pataki long enough to understand his language.

"The best thing you can do now," Bob told her, in a much calmer voice, "is sign those divorce papers, and walk away. You would finally be free, Miriam. Free of this life. Isn't that what you've always wanted?"

Miriam glared viciously at him.

"I will not back down from you, Bob. I've been looking up stuff related to divorce online. I won't sign your papers, not now, not ever. I didn't want to do this, Bob, but you…you leave me no choice."

Bob eyed his wife suspiciously.

"Miriam? What the hell are you getting at?"

Miriam took a deep breath. This had to work. It was now, or never.

"I plan to…I will petition this divorce. I'm taking it to court Bob."

Bob's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, and he became so red, it would have put a beet to shame.

"WHAT? YOU…YOU….YOU CAN'T FUCKING DO THAT!"

He stared at her in disgust and shock. Was she shitting him right now?

"Actually, yes, I can, and I will. I'm taking this up in front of a judge. I'll stop this divorce even if I have to get a court order to do it."

Bob looked at his wife in total disbelief. She wouldn't do something like that. She hasn't talked to a judge, hadn't contacted a lawyer, nothing. Bob believed her words to be an empty threat, but he knew he would have to keep his guard up.

"Fine. But if you do, I want your ass out of this house by tomorrow morning," He said dangerously.

The two parents were so busy staring each other down, that they didn't even notice Helga storm out the front door.

Chapter Twenty Eight is done!

Will Miriam go through with her threat? All will be explained in the next chapter, because I am falling asleep on my asdfghjkl;""zzttyysjeieef000000000llllkjuionkmkkkkpemekienjejwkeje


	29. Chapter 29: Helga's Anger

Review Responses:

acosta perez jose ramiro

Thank you very much for the review.

Yes, Helga heard everything. I don't think there is anything in the world that could help put Miriam in a positive light, at this point. Everything was shot to tell when she yelled out that she never wanted her own to children.

Nep2uune

Thanks for the review.

Yes, Miriam is being very selfish. I'm not saying that to be sarcastic, she is being quite selfish. She is only thinking about what she wants, and does not realize that in order to save a marriage, both people have to want to save it. She I the only one who thinks it can be saved, but Bob and Helga do not.

Miriam does not want the divorce, and it is for the exact reasons you said: she's afraid she'll lose everything. Thing is, she already lost them when she walked out the door ten years ago.

Nairobi-Harper

Thank you for reviewing.

Lol, I think everyone on here who is reading this story has a screw you attitude towards Miriam.

Chapter Twenty Nine: Helga's Anger

Helga Pataki stormed down the street from her house, fuming. She made sure, however, that she left the house quietly enough, so that she wouldn't get into a confrontation with her father and…that woman.

She stopped in her tracks, and began fumbling through her black and pink leather purse. When she found what she was looking for, she snatched a cigarette out of the carton, put it to her lips, and lit it. Taking a long drag, she clenched her teeth tightly, so tightly, her jaw began to hurt.

She scowled deeply when she thought of what Miriam had said. She heard it all. She was just coming downstairs to cook herself something to it, when she heard her parents going at it.

They were fighting again, which was no surprise to Helga. Miriam had threatened to take Bob to court to fight the divorce. It was honestly all Helga could do to keep herself from lunging at her mother and slapping her into the middle of next month.

She let out a growl, when she thought of what Miriam had said. . Why couldn't that woman just leave well enough alone? Was she trying to make everybody's life miserable? Why couldn't she for once do the decent thing and let Bob have his divorce?

It seemed that the word decent was something Miriam had never heard of.

Helga took another drag of her cigarette, the nicotine starting to calm her down, but only a little. After a while, she lets out a long shriek of frustration and disbelief. The loud shriek caused several passerby's to stop what they were doing, and look at her, curious as to what this young blonde was so angry about.

And, as typical as it was of Helga Pataki, she gave them all a growl, baring her teeth at them. It was a perfect, not verbal way of saying, "keep walking, fuckers!"

The passerby's seemed to get the message, and not wanting to be pulled into a hostile confrontation, they left the young blonde woman to her devices. Some of them muttered under their breaths about, "women and their times of the months."

If only they knew.

After scaring off the passerby's, Helga slammed her face into her hands, careful not to burn her skin with the cigarette.

This was going to get more complicated than it needed to be. Chances are, if Miriam did take this to court, Helga would have to testify against her, and that honestly wasn't something that she wanted to do. It wasn't that she cared; it was the fact that she, like her father, just wanted Miriam to sign the divorce papers, and leave. The really messed up part, was that Miriam was about to involve her children, whether she realized it or not. In all honesty, Helga did not want to humiliate her mother, despite how she felt, and it was not that she felt sorry for Miriam. No, it was because, above anything else in the world, Helga wanted Miriam gone.

What's more, Olga would have to testify against her mother as well, probably, and Helga knew that would kill her sister. Helga did not understand why Olga even bothered with that woman, but she did not want to see her own sister be broken down in front of a court room.

Helga stomped her cigarette into the ground, and lit up another one. She usually wasn't one to chain smoke, but she hadn't been this mad since Miriam waltzed back into her life.

She decided she might even have a third cigarette. That was how pissed she was.

'Damnit!' Helga thought angrily, 'God fucking damnit! Why couldn't she have just signed those fucking divorce papers, and walk her ass out like she should?'

Why couldn't she have just stayed gone in the first place? As far as Helga was concerned, Miriam had no right to come back, let along be in her life.

If Helga could forge her mother's signature, with no proof that she forged it, she would. She knew her dad felt the same way. Neither Helga nor her father wanted the divorce to be this complicated. It was Miriam who was making it this way. It was Miriam, who was once again, royally screwing everything up.

'Just how fucking selfish can that blasted woman get?' Helga thought again, stomping on her second cigarette, and lighting up a third.

Yes, today was a chain smoke day for Helga Pataki. It was totally disgusting, but she didn't care.

Truth be told, at one time, Helga deeply wanted her mother to return. When she looked at other girls with their mothers, she felt anger, bitterness, jealousy and sadness. She longed to have what they did, a mother who gave a damn. However, after a while, during the ten years of Miriam's absence, Helga learned to live without her mother. She learned that she could survive, even though her health drastically declined and she had to be hospitalized. She learned that she did not need her mother in her life. It hurt, it sucked, but it was the only thing Helga could do. She grew tired of wanting something that would never come, and so opted to move on with her life.

It was just something that Helga did. She never dwelled on the past for very long, if it all, and when she got over it, she did whatever she could to make sure that it no longer affected her.

After Miriam came back, Helga wanted nothing to do with her. She didn't want to shout angry or snide remarks at the woman, instead desiring to avoid all contact as much as possible. The only reason she talked to Miriam, was because Bob dictated that she be respectful to her so called, "mother."

Helga was very big on respect, but she was type of person who believed that respect had to go both ways, and that it should never be one-sided. When it came to parents and their children, Helga believed that the parents had to show respect as well. She hated parents who expected utmost respect from their children, but treated their kids like dirt.

In her mind, a mother who leaves because they were too selfish to deal with their problems like an adult should, and then shouts out that she never even wanted her two children, was not deserving of any respect. With Helga, you earned her respect; she never just gave it to anybody.

Miriam one day just decided that she didn't want to be a mom anymore, and now she wanted to sail right back into Helga's life, and pretend like nothing ever happened. That was something Helga could not allow, nor forgive.

And Miriam had done nothing to earn Helga's respect.

As she put out her cigarette, Helga knew she had to be prepared. If Miriam made good on her threat, Helga had to prepare herself, in case she did have to testify.

She just hoped it wouldn't get more complicated than it already had.

Holy shit. 29 chapters, and this story is almost finished!

I'll try to post chapter 30 as soon as possible.


	30. Chapter 30: Bob's Disbelief

Review Responses:

Nep2uune

Thank you very much for reviewing.

I honestly think that if Miriam could have seen into the future, if she was able to see just how much damage she caused when she left, she probably would have stayed. Then again, it's too late to wonder what Miriam would have done if she had any idea. Many people don't think about how huge the consequence of their actions could end up being. While everybody does deserve to be happy, you really have to ask yourself if going out to find that happiness is worth the risk of losing the love and respect from your family.

The J.A.M. a.k.a. Numbuh i

Thanks for the review.

Oh, trust me. Helga really does want to punch Miriam. But, she's not going to. Although, your review did give me an idea…

acosta perez jose ramiro

Thanks for reviewing.

I believe that respect needs to go both ways. So many parents out there treat their kids like dirt, they belittle their children and ridicule them, and yet these said parents demand respect from their kids. They use the fact that they brought the kid into the world as an excuse to do whatever they want, and that is something I do not agree with. Although it is parents job to keep their child(ren) safe, to teach them how to be productive members of society, and how to be independent human beings, many parents also need to remember that their kids are human beings, and what's more, that they, the parents, were children once as well. Just ask yourself (not you, personally): when you were a kid, how did it feel if you had parents that totally disrespected you, but expected respect from you? Respect never be one sided. In the words of George Carlin, it should be based on the parent's performance.

Chapter Thirty: Bob's Disbelief

Big Bob Pataki sat in his office at the beeper emporium, gazing at a stack of paperwork, all order for beepers and cell phones. However, his mind was elsewhere.

The words Miriam had threatened him with, that she was taking this to court to fight him on the divorce, rang through his mind like sirens. Even though he told Helga that he was going to prepare himself for anything, even though he had talked with his lawyers, had them draft stuff up, he never in a million years expected that Miriam would actually throw something like this at him. He never expected that it all had to end like this.

For the first time in his life, Bob seriously felt like he wanted to ruin Miriam. After all, how dare she, the person who was at complete fault for this mess, the person who caused so much damage, threaten to fight him?

'That fucking bitch,' Bob venomously thought as he clenched his fists.

For the first time in his life, Bob not only felt like he wanted to ruin Miriam, he wanted to completely destroy her. In his eyes, she had no right to fight this divorce. She had no right to force him to work on a marriage that had died the day she decided to walk out on her family. She had absolutely no right

'Just who the hell…who the hell does that bitch think she is?'

Why did Miriam once again have to complicate everything? Instead of doing the decent thing, which would be to sign the divorce papers, go on with her life, and work on rebuilding her relationship with her two children, she had to pitch a fit because things weren't going her way. Not once did she actually give any thought to how this would continue to affect her own two kids, especially Helga. Miriam had gotten her way when she left her family all those years ago, and she was determined to get her way even now, and screw how everyone else felt. Because as long as Miriam was happy, then nothing else mattered.

Bob could seriously say that in this moment, this very moment, he hated his wife with a passion. He was starting to see her, not as the woman he fell in love with, but for who he now believed her to be: a selfish, inconsiderate and irresponsible woman who always decided to take the easy way out and did not care whom she hurt, as long as she got her way. A woman who was willing to destroy the well-being of her entire family, so she could be happy. A woman who had no problems with forcing her own two children, one who was barely finished with the fourth grade at the time, to make devastating sacrifices so that she could have the life she wanted.

But, it no longer mattered to Big Bob Pataki. If that bitch wanted a fight, he'd give her one, but he vowed right then and there that she would rue the day she dared to cross him. He would grant her the fight in court, but he would everything in his power to make sure that the judge saw that this woman didn't have the right to stay married to him. For the first time since Miriam left, Bob could honestly say that he did not care if Miriam was ruined after this. All he cared about, was that he got his divorce, and that she was out of his life for good.

Wrenching his cell phone out of his pocket, Bob punched in a number. He listened for a moment as it rang. After a few minutes, he heard a voice on the other line. Bob's tone was shaky and angry when he started to speak.

"Rick, it's Bob. My damned wife just dropped a huge bomb on me the other day, she threatened to take this to court...Yes, Rick, she threatened to fight against me in court. Now just shut up and….I said shut up and listen! I don't know if she's serious, or if she's trying to get at me, but I need you to do me a favor. Dig up whatever dirt you can on Miriam Pataki…..I don't care how you do it, just do it! Just do whatever the hell you can to make sure, that if this divorce does go to court, that that woman won't stand a chance in hell. "

Looks like a court battle will ensue, and it is not going to be pretty.


	31. Chapter 31: Exit Miriam

Miriam walked into the living room to see her husband, sitting on the couch, watching The Wheel. She proceeds to sit down on a chair, opposite of him, and as far away as possible, a glass of wine in her hand.

As Bob listened to the show, he repeated to himself over and over, that whatever Miriam might say or do in this very moment, he could not give in. He had to be strong. He had to make her realize that no matter what, he was getting this divorce.

It had been a week since she had threatened him with the whole court thing. After that, she didn't bring it up again, and this made Bob very uneasy. He had already contacted his lawyer and demanded that he dig up whatever dirt he could on Miriam, but he still felt quite disturbed. Why hadn't Miriam said anything more about the court battle she was planning? Was it just a ruse, a way to make Bob cower to his knees, or was she serious? He wasn't entirely sure, but one thing was for certain: he had to make sure that he was always five steps ahead of Miriam.

Bob glanced out of the corner of his eye to see her glaring at him. For a while, he chose to ignore it.

'She's just trying to get at me,' he thought bitterly, 'She's trying to mock me and make me feel bad for something that she caused. Well, I won't let that happen!'

She continued to glare at him, her eyes trying to goad him into, quite possibly, another fight. Bob believed that was exactly what she wanted. He, however, would do everything he could not to give into her pettiness. He'd show her who was the more mature of the two.

After a while, Miriam decided that she could be the first to speak up

"Enjoying the show, Robert?"

Bob shrugged.

"Suits me just fine, Miriam."

Seriously, what the hell did she want him to say? Did she honestly think she could strike up a conversation with him, just like that?

In truth, Miriam actually wasn't trying to strike up friendly conversation with Bob. She was merely trying to figure out a way to tell him something very important.

"I don't really like this show, Bob," she continued.

Now, Bob was getting fed up with his wife's antics.

"Then why the hell are you even watching it? If you have something to say, Miriam, just get straight to the fucking point, and quit wasting my time."

Miriam wasn't surprised by this. Her husband was never one to waste valuable time. He hated the idea of beating around the bush and sugar coating things. If you had something to tell him, he preferred that you just came right out and said it.

"Alright then, fine. Do you remember when I told you last week that I was taking this to court?"

Bob's eyes lit up at Miriam's words. So she _did _manage to do something in that amount of time. Now, Bob would finally find out exactly what Miriam had been up to.

"How could I forget?" Bob confirmed, "You screamed it so loudly at me, I was sure half the neighborhood heard it."

Miriam took a deep breath, preparing herself, thinking about how she was going to reveal the news she had in store for her husband.

"Well, I want you to know that…I contacted Hillwood City Family Court. I filed a petition to fight this divorce, and what's more, the judge agreed to hear my case."

Those very words made Bob practically boil with anger. His wife _had_ made good on her threat. In a way, it didn't surprise him. But, that was just fine. He had already contacted his lawyer, and right now he was composing a winning argument against Miriam. Bob never felt more confidant. He was sure that Miriam would lose.

"Is that so? Well then, I'll have you know that I have already talked to my lawyer, and they are prepared to fight you every step of the way on this."

"And the same goes for me. I managed to find a lawyer that agreed to do this for me, pro-bono. Just like you, Bob, I will everything in my power to make sure that the judge does not grant you your precious divorce. You mark my words, Robert Pataki, when all this is over, I will still remain your wife."

Bob snorted.

"Oh, please, Miriam. What argument could you possibly have that would work against me?"

"Oh, do you really want me to tell you?" Miriam fired back, "How about this: you forced me to have a child I wasn't ready for. Throughout all these years of being married to you, you never listened to me. You never even bothered to understand how I was feeling. You never once gave a damn about the misery I felt, the misery that you caused. Would you like me to go on? Cause I have plenty of reasons why I know I can win this battle."

Bob merely smirked at his wife's words. She was acting so foolishly, that it was almost amusing.

"Those all may be true, Miriam, but don't forget that the judge is going to listen to both sides, and when he hears mine, he's going to believe that whatever pathetic excuses you may have won't stand up in court."

Miriam glared deeply at her husband. Why couldn't he have just agreed to see a marriage counselor? They wouldn't be in this position in the first place if he had!

Why was he being so damned difficult? She believed that, even though she had caused a lot of damage, she was the one actually putting in the effort to save their marriage, and she simply could not understand why he was so against that!

"I know you're just trying to scare me into thinking that I don't have a chance, but if there's one thing I learned from you, Bob, is that you never back down," she said, jabbing a finger at him, " I won't back down from this! In fact, I vow right here, right now, that I will do everything I can to make sure that you don't get your stupid divorce granted."

Bob listened as Miriam ranted on and on at him, about how she was sure the judge would take her side, how she was sure that Bob would look like a complete fool in court.

"What it comes down to, is this: the judge will rule in my favor and…"

"No, you want to know what it comes down to? What it comes down to is that you're a selfish bitch who doesn't care about anyone but herself."

Miriam's bright blue eyes widened with rage and disbelief.

"Now that….that is completely unfair, Bob. How dare you…"

"DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE…DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE TALK TO ME ABOUT WHAT'S FAIR AND WHAT'S NOT! Tell me, Miriam, was walking out on this family fair to us? Was forcing your children to make devastating sacrifices so that you could have the life you wanted fair to them? Like I said before, you're the one who chose to walk out, you're the one who chose to abandon your family, you're the one who CHOSE to cause so much damage, and yet there you stand accusing me of being unfair? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME, MIRIAM?"

And more screaming commenced. Nasty words were hurled at one another. Miriam had even picked up a vase and chucked it at Bob's face, narrowly missing him by a few inches. The very idea that he was used as a target made him even angrier.

After a while, the storm had died down, but the tension was still strong. Glass and porcelain littered the floor, indicating what was left of the many plates and cups Miriam had thrown at Bob.

Finally, the head of the Pataki Household managed to calm down.

He had finally reached his boiling point. He was finally going to make sure that some changes were made around the house.

"Fine, Miriam," bob whispered, in a dangerous voice, " I'll give you the court battle you so desperately want. But I want you out of this house. Tonight. Right now."

"What…what did you just say?"

"You heard me! I want your sorry ass out of this house, tonight!

And Bob turned on his heel, and stomped upstairs to their bedroom. Miriam followed behind him, screaming in protest.

When he reached their bedroom, he flung open the closet, and grabbed Miriam's suitcases. Throwing them onto the bed, he went back to the closet, and began carelessly ripping all of Miriam's clothes, and shoving them into the suitcases. Miriam continued to scream in protest

"Bob! Bob stop! Stop it! You can't kick me out! Where will I go!

"Not my fucking problem, Miriam," her husband exclaimed, as he continued to stuff the suitcases.

When everything of Miriam's was shoved into the suitcases, Bob threw them down the stair case in a fit of anger. He stomped all the way down the stairs, listening as his wife pleaded with him, begging him to rethink what he was doing.

"You can't….you can't do this! You're crazy! You're out of your mind! You're…"

I don't give a shit what you have to say, I want you out!"

And with that, Bob opened the front door, and tossed Miriam's suitcases onto the sidewalk. They landed with a harsh thud.

Determined not to let her husband do this to her, Miriam grabbed onto his arm.

"Bob…Bob please…listen to me…just listen to me…please….don't…don't do this! We can work this out! Let's just sleep on it, and see how we feel tomorrow! We fix this, we can make it better! We can…"

Bob wrenched his arm free of Miriam's grasp in complete disgust.

"Oh my fucking God, don't you get it? I no longer want you here! I am so sick of your excuses, I'm sick of your voice, but most of all, Miriam, I'M SICK OF YOU! I CAN'T FUCKING STAND THE VERY SIGHT OF YOU ANYMORE, NOW GET THE FUCK OUT!

And Bob Pataki grabbed his wife's arm, threw her out the front door, and violently slammed it shut.

The force in which he tossed her out caused Miriam to stumble. Quickly rising to her feet, she ran up to the door, and began pounding her fists on it, screaming at him, begging to be let in, but Bob ignored them.

After a long while of screaming, crying and pounding, Miriam collapsed on the front steps. She began sobbing loudly.

Then, she fished out her cell phone, and with shaky fingers, began dialing a number.

After four rings, she heard a woman's voice on the other line.

"Mom? Mom…I need…I need your help!"

Yep. Bob just kicked Miriam out. And it's only going to get uglier.


	32. Chapter 32: Miriam's Struggle

I am so sorry that I haven't updated in a while. I've been so busy with school work and my internship. Graduation is only two months away, so I'm constantly being swamped!

Review Responses:

Nep2uune:

Thank you very much for your review.

Yes, Miriam should have seen this coming, because Bob did tell her that he wanted her out. Her throwing dishes and making threats what was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Also, the court case isn't coming for a while. I'm still researching what happens when one spouse fights against a divorce in court. I need to find out many things, such as does a lawyer represent them in court, what kinds of questions are asked, and if Helga and Olga should be used as witnesses (they are over the age of 18).

acosta perez jose ramiro:

Thanks for the review.

No, this won't be good for either side. It is true that Bob was yelling the most, but Miriam did use physical violence. And even though he refused to go to marriage counseling, true, it may not make him look good, but not much can be said against him for it because marriage counseling before divorce isn't required in the state of Washington. Also, Miriam never even bothered to really support herself (as in getting help for her depression and alcoholism).

Nairobi-Harper:

Thanks for reviewing.

Yes, Bob kicked Miriam out. He may very well have caused Miriam to have a better case. It depends on what the states laws are when it comes to this. In most states, you cannot kick your spouse out unless there are legitimate reasons, such as: spouse is a danger to the other spouse and children (if the couple has children), spouse has tendencies towards being physically, mentally, verbally, emotionally, sexually, drug or alcohol related abuse. Kicking a spouse out of the house, even during a divorce, can have serious legal consequences, and simply telling the court's that your wife or husband was stressing you out will not cut it.

However, Hillwood, although based on a real life city, is a made up city, so obviously the laws are going to be different. I'm honestly thinking of making up some Hillwood City laws that will fit with this story.

Now, please keep in mind that after I sent out that private message to you guys, I read over your ideas, but I thought that Nep2unne's idea was the best one (that doesn't mean that the other ideas weren't good) because as they put it: I am the author of this story, and Hillwood isn't real. When a place isn't real, you are free to make up your own laws about that made up place. I may not own the city of Hillwood, but I think it's safe for me to make up a few laws for a fanfiction.

Now, onto the story.

Chapter 32: Miriam's Struggle.

It has been exactly three days since Bob so harshly kicked Miriam out of the family home.

After the events took place, the distraught woman called up her mother in tears, informing her of what Bob had done, and had begged for a place to stay.

Not wanting to see her daughter on the streets, Miriam's mother, Mrs. Shelton, allowed her daughter to stay until the entire thing blew over.

Mrs. Shelton, although she loved her two children (Miriam had a sister), was considered to be a very old fashioned and passive aggressive woman. She always found a way to point out somebody's faults and emphasize on them. So, when Miriam told her about the divorce Bob had wanted, how he refused to seek marriage counseling, and how he kicked her out, true to her nature, Mrs. Shelton couldn't help but respond with, "I am deeply sorry that all this has happened to you, dear, but it never would have happened if you hadn't left in the first place." She also then started going in on comparing Miriam to her sister. Saying things like, "I know you and your sister are two different people, but she never would have done this," "I mean, we all go through hard times, sweetie, but I sometimes wonder if you're father and I raised you right. Why, your depression is understandable, but just up and leaving your family like that?"

It was in this moment, as Miriam sat at the breakfast table of her parents' home, that she began to wonder why she had even bothered.

Her parents had, a long time ago, threatened to disown her if she dared act on her feelings of leaving her husband and children. When she did, they were furious. Her mother had called her a, "cruel and selfish human being. The bane of her very existence," even going as far as to say, "I simply cannot believe you would so willingly shirk your responsibilities to your husband and children like that," and Miriam's all time personal favorite, "what a shameful, shameful thing to do. You should be ashamed of yourself, Miriam. Do you have any idea how much embarrassment you caused your father and me? Oh, what will the neighbors say?"

Miriam and her mother only reconciled, if you can even call it that, after she had informed her mother that she realized she had made a mistake, and went back to live with her husband and children.

Happy that her daughter did the right thing, that still did not stop Mrs. Shelton from once again nit-picking at her daughter.

And now, no Miriam was in a huge rut. She had no idea what to do about this situation, and it greatly devastated her.

Her mother had suggested that she look up Hillwood City Laws that might be able to help her out.

"Surely," her mother had said, "there must be a law against a spouse kicking out another spouse, even in the midst of a divorce."

But, Miriam was too upset and too distraught to look up anything. She didn't think that Bob would risk his chances of losing the divorce, of getting the law on his back, but she also knew that when he got very angry, he often did things that weren't the smartest idea.

Did Miriam even have a case against Bob in this very situation? She did not know. What's more, if she did, she was afraid of going back. Not because she was afraid of Bob, but because doing so might be even more detrimental to the situation at hand.

Could she even go to the police? Bob may have kicked her out, but it wasn't like she didn't have anywhere to go. There were homeless shelters, but she had no desire to subject herself to that. The only option was her parent's house, and she was thankful that they took her in.

But, her mother was right. Despite being afraid, she needed to try and fight back against Bob. She needed to look up the Hillwood City laws on marriage and divorce, and see if she could find anything that would have to force Bob to let her back in.

Giving up meant she was allowing Bob to have this divorce. And she would absolutely not do that.

At the same time, what if there were no laws that could help her out? What if Bob was in his legal rights to kick her out? What if she did go to the police, and but was turned away because they couldn't do anything?

It was a lot more than what one woman could take.

Miriam Pataki felt so stuck. On one hand, not finding out if there were any laws against Bob felt like she was allowing him the divorce. On the other hand, involving law enforcement could very well make the situation much worse than it already was.

In a way, her mother was right. This never would have happened if Miriam hadn't left in the first place. She and he husband wouldn't be in the middle of an ugly divorce, she wouldn't have gotten kicked out, and her youngest daughter wouldn't have hated her so much.

Who knew that acting so impulsively in one moment could have a life time of consequences?

Now that everything was said and done, Miriam could honestly say that if she could take it all back, she would. If she were able to predict the future and see the damage her actions had caused, she never would have left.

Those ten years of happiness simply weren't worth the devastation she caused. It wasn't worth the risk of losing her husband or her children.

And no amount of apologies and "I realized that," could ever make up for what she did.

But, she still had to try. She knew that she had to get it together. She had to find some law, any law, that stated that it was illegal to kick a spouse out even during a divorce.

She would figure out what to do after that.

With a determined look on her face, Miriam got up from the table, and made her way over to the living room, where the family computer sat.

She had a lot of researching to do.

What will Miriam find out? Will there be a law that could legally get Bob into trouble, or will she be stuck living in her parent's home? Find out next time!


	33. Chapter 33: Bob's First Victory

Before I start in with the review responses, I just wanted to say that I cannot believe that this story has reached 100 reviews. Thank you so much to everyone reading and reviewing. I don't even feel like that I enough to just show how grateful I am to you all. You guys rock so hard, and I am so thankful that you guys stood by me as I wrote this.

Review Responses:

Nep2uune

Thank you so much for reviewing.

Also, the law about kicking a spouse out will be revealed in this chapter. However, from the title, you should be able to figure it out. And no, last time I checked, there was no law that stated you could not get a divorce. Although, and I could be wrong, but I think there was a time when divorce was illegal. That must have really sucked, if that's true.

Nairobi-Harper

Thanks for the review!

You will have to find out later if Miriam wins the court battle. However, with the way things are going, something tells me you have a good idea of what the outcome will be.

acosta perez jose ramiro

Thank you for reviewing.

Lol, I know, ten years of happiness did sound weird. However, think of it this way: when Miriam left, it was because she no longer wanted the life that she felt had tied her down. She wanted to be free, and my fic Memoirs of Miriam gives an insight to how she feels about her life.

Also, Miriam did not hate her family. Rather, she was so depressed, that she felt that leaving was the only way to fix what she was feeling. What's more, she was so wrapped up in her new found freedom. She only came back because she realized that what she did was wrong. However, as shown in this fic, a simple moment of realization is not enough to make up for abandoning her family.

Chapter Thirty Three: Bob's First Victory.

Bob sat at the table, thinking about the event that took place just a few days ago.

He had done it. He had finally kicked Miriam out. Out of the house, but not entirely out of his life. No, that would come only when the divorce was made official. When that happened, Bob wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to see Miriam again.

He didn't know where she was, nor did he even care. Knowing her, she probably ran to her parent's house, and began sobbing to them about how much of a brute her husband was, and that she should be forgiven because, "oh, I made a mistake."

It was just too bad she didn't even consider that the so called mistake would have dire consequences.

Still though, Bob was worried. He had just kicked his wife out of the house, no, forced her out. Regardless of the fact that they were in the middle of a divorce, she was still legally his wife until those papers were signed, or in this case, until a judge granted him the divorce. However, he was worried. Without any regards to the laws that talk about forcefully removing a spouse form the marital home, he let his temper get the best of him.

This could not have been legal, and what's more, he was afraid that he just unintentionally furthered Miriam's case.

His father was absolutely right when he told him, "lose your temper, you will lose at everything." It was still something Bob had to work on.

But, he believed that it was entirely Miriam's fault! Even so, that still didn't stop him from wondering:

What if Miriam had contacted the police? What if she brought them here, and had them demand that she be let back in? Bob wouldn't like it, but he would have to do it.

He also began remembering the look on his daughter's faces when he told them what he had done. Helga's had been a look of shock, but Olga was clearly horrified, and had demanded to know how he could do such a thing, just how could he be so cruel. She had accused him of only thinking of himself during this entire thing. It hurt him to hear his daughter say that; at the same time, he found Olga's accusation o be highly ironic.

Bob did not expect Olga to understand, even if she had been there to witness the fight that led to Miriam being kicked out. Olga had never been married, so therefore, she couldn't possibly understand what getting a divorce even meant. It was a lot more than just ending a marriage; it was ending an entire life time with another person.

Still though, he had wished she would be more open minded. Olga had always been one for optimism, and believed that everything would work out for the better. That was all well and good, but it wasn't what the real world was like. Not everything worked in your favor, and Bob hoped that one day Olga would understand that. He hoped that one day, she would understand that you can't just pick up the pieces when your spouse decides to walk out, and doesn't come back for ten years.

Not really wanting to focus on how his daughter's were taking the news, Bob made his way over to the family computer. He felt bad for his children, but he had bigger fish to fry.

He opened up the webpage, a search engine called HypeCat (1), and began typing in: kicking a spouse out of the marital home.

He began scrolling down, but so far, nothing seemed to help. All that was available so far were blog posts, questions asked by users on various websites, and advertisements for lawyers. Bob began to get frustrated, when a webpage caught his eyes.

It was actually the webpage's URL, " . ." that caught his eyes (2).

Bob clicked on it, hoping, just hoping, that he would find a law about kicking your spouse out of the marital home, and hopefully that law would rule in his favor.

His eyes traveled up to the search engine, and he typed in, "kicking a spouse out of the marital home."

Within seconds, a document came up.

Bob began to read it, slowly, and with caution, not wanting to miss any important details. he document continued on for pages and pages, greatly irritating Bob.

"Goddamnit! This fucking thing better have what I'm looking for!" He said angrily.

His scrolling suddenly became more rapid, as he began losing his patience.

Then, suddenly, his eyes caught something, a section titled Legal Exceptions. He clicked on it, and his eyes carefully scanned the document.

As he read the document, a smirk formed on his face. And with every word he read, the smirk got wider and wider:

"Under the Hillwood Marital and Property Protection Act of 1985, a spouse cannot remove another spouse from the marital home during a divorce, unless any of the following can proven: The spouse being forced out does not have their name on the lease and has not, in any way, shape or form, contributed financially. Also, the spouse has severe physical, mental, emotional, verbal, sexual, drug, alcohol related abuse problems. Spouse abandoned family for a specified period of time, which is ten years or more." (3)

Bob gazed at the statement with utmost glee. This was perfect! Everything that he just read fit with his situation

When he married Miriam, his parents had given him and his new wife their second home, as a wedding gift. Even to this day, Bob could still remember that his wife's name was never on the lease. Everything, the car, the house, everything, was under his name. And Miriam contributing to the house financially What a joke. She had not taken a job ever since they were married, and he did not count her short existence at the beeper emporium. He didn't even pay her. What's more, ever since Miriam came back, she had proven that she still hadn't gotten help for her alcoholism. Not only that, but the time period that she was gone fit the specified time limit about the abandonment issue.

The law may have stated that all of the above had to be proven, but Bob was not worried. No, he had witnesses, he had lawyers, he had everything ready and available to counter Miriam should she even try to contact law enforcement. There was nothing the police would be able to do.

Miriam didn't have a chance, and Bob was more than happy to realize that. After all, this only meant that he was just that much closer to getting his divorce. There was just the court battle that he had to endure.

Bob clicked on the print button. He knew the law was on his side, but he still wanted to be prepared, just in case his wife had decided to contact law enforcement.

If she had decided to contact law enforcement, all he had to do was show them this document. No matter what she did, there was nothing that law enforcement would be able to do for her.

Yes, Miriam was in for a very rude awakening.

Notes:

A made up search engine. As far as I know, this does not exist. I looked.

A made up website.

A made up law.

Ok, so do you guys remember when I sent you that long private message about Bob kicking Miriam out?

Well, I read over all of them, and while I really liked them, I decided to go with Nep2uune's idea. They had some very good points, but they also made a very good point when they said that Hillwood does not exist. Therefore, I can make up laws that fit with the story. However, I also wanted to list some legal reasons that would allow a spouse to be removed from the marital home, even in the middle of a divorce. So, Nep2unne, thank you very much for your suggestion.

Only a few more chapters after this!


	34. Chapter 34: Helga and Phoebe

Review Responses:

acosta perez jose ramiro

Thanks for reviewing.

I honestly that the law that I came up with would best fit with the story. I'm glad you thought it was a good idea.

Nairobi-Harper

Thank you for your review.

I think Helga would feel the same way you do, if she was real.

Nep2uune

Thanks for the review.

I don't think anybody else feels sorry for Miriam. As you said, divorce can be hard, but you also have to admit that Miriam brought, pretty much all of this, on herself.

Chapter 34: Helga and Phoebe

Helga was spending the night at Phoebe's house. It was 3 AM in the morning, but both girls' were unable to sleep.

They were sitting outside on the back porch. Helga's pink pajama bottom legs and black socked feet were tucked underneath her. A cigarette was in between her fingers, and an ashtray sat on the glass table in front of her, along with two glasses of wine, one for Helga, and one for Phoebe.

Phoebe had bought an ashtray for Helga. Her parents knew the blonde smoked, and they honestly didn't care too much, as long as she smoked outside and disposed of the butts properly.

In their eyes, Helga was of legal age to smoke, and because she was not their daughter, they had no say in what she did. However, they could enforce some rules regarding smoking when it came to their home.

Helga had just gotten finished with telling Phoebe that her dad had kicked Miriam out of the house, and her bespectacled friend was honestly quite speechless. She knew from Helga that ever since Miriam came back, things had gotten pretty bad, but she didn't think it was that bad.

After all, who just kicks their spouse out like that?

"My dad told me all about it," Helga said, flicking her cigarette, "apparently they got into this full blown fight, and Miriam pushed my dad too far."

Phoebe bit her lip, almost afraid to ask. The "full blown fights" that Helga's parents had were known to be legendary.

"How…how far did your mom push your dad, exactly?"

"According to Bob, she was throwing plates at him and threatening him with shit like, 'oh the judge will rule my favor, I'll always remain your wife.' He just couldn't stand the fact that she's making this whole thing so damned difficult, so he told her she had to leave, and when I say leave, I mean he packed her bags and practically threw her out the door himself. I'm actually glad I wasn't there to see it happen. My sister wasn't there either, but she wasn't happy with my dad when he told us."

"Do you know your mom went?"

"Don't care, and not my problem."

Phoebe stared at her friend. To some, Helga's words may have sounded harsh, but she honestly could not blame Helga's resentment towards her mother.

At first, she had thought that Helga, while her anger was justifiable, was being a little harsh. After all, everyone did things they weren't proud of, and Helga Pataki was especially guilty of that. Phoebe didn't know why Helga was so adamantly against talking to her mother.

Of course, that was before Helga finding out that her mother didn't want her. She had told Phoebe about it when she asked to spend the night, insisting that she did not want to be around Miriam. In fact, Helga's exact words were, "Phoebe, I have got to spend the night at your house, otherwise, I will fucking tear that bitch's fucking eyes out." She had been crying profusely when she said it.

It was in that moment, that Phoebe could no longer wonder why Helga did not want to talk to Miriam, let alone see her. If she heard her own mother yell that out, well, she didn't know what she would do.

Suddenly, Phoebe's eyes lit up.

"But Helga! I thought kicking a spouse out was illegal!"

Helga smirked and shook her head. She knew Phoebe would bring that little issue up.

"Yeah, that's what I thought too, but then my dad looked up Hillwood city laws. In fact, let me get it for you. My dad sent the link to me.

Helga pulled out her cell phone, and launched her e-mail. She began scrolling down, when finally, she pressed her finger to the screen, and handed the phone to Phoebe.

Phoebe looked at the screen, her eyes moving as she read what Helga had handed to her. Then, her eye widened.

Everything that she read, every single exception that would allow a spouse to be removed from the marital home, fit Miriam and Bob's situation to a tee.

"So, this means that…"

Helga nodded, taking back her phone.

Helga: "That's right. Miriam's name is not on the lease to the house, so she does not legally own it. In Hillwood, both names have to be on the lease, and if there's only one spouse, then that's the one who owns the house legally. In this case, that's Bob. What's more, he's the one with the job. He's the one that puts food on the table. He's the one that can pay, and does pay the bills. Miriam has never contributed to the house in any way, and she hasn't gotten help for her alcoholism. Plus, the time she was absent fits the time for a spouse, or parent to be away from her family in which the law considers it to be full blown abandonment. Law enforcement can't do anything."

"Do you…do you think she'll try to go to them?"

"She can try, but like I said, they won't do anything. Furthermore, I already told my dad that if he needed a witness, I would do it. The most law enforcement could do is question Miriam, but I don't think that woman is stupid enough to lie to fucking law enforcement."

Phoebe shook her head.

"I'm just…I'm sorry it had to come to this.

Helga took a large gulp of her wine.

"To be honest, so am I. I don't feel sorry for Miriam, I just think it sucks that the divorce had to get so fucking messy. Miriam can go jump off a bridge, for all I care."

Phoebe opened her mouth, clearly about to say something, but Helga cut her off.

"Look, Phoebes, I know what you're going to say. You're going to tell me that wishing Miriam would die is a little harsh. You know what, maybe it is. I don't want Miriam dead, but I don't want her in my life either. You know, I've been hearing people actually defend mothers who abandon their children, saying stuff like, 'oh, don't judge, because you've never been there.' And you know what, that's true. I'm not a mom, I'm not sure if I ever want to be one. But what I do know, is that no good mother just walks out on her kids like that. You know something? Wanting to take some time to yourself, that's not selfish. I get the whole moms need a break, and moms need to be happy, but walking out on your family, and putting them, especially your children, through emotional and mental trauma, just so you can have the life you want, that is what's selfish. No, that goes beyond selfish.

Helga took another drag of her cigarette.

Helga: "For me, this isn't just about getting back at Miriam for what she did to me. Yes, there, I said it, I want to get back at Miriam for what she did to me, but this isn't all about that. No, Miriam needs to learn a huge lesson: that you can't just abandon your family, you can't act so incredibly selfish, and not think that there will be consequences for your actions. When I found out that my mom didn't want me, I was devastated. Truth be told, I was even thinking about talking to her and finding out what her deal was. But when I heard her say that she didn't want me, all bets were off. It was so fucked up, because yeah, she may have been depressed, she may not have asked to be trapped, but here's the thing: I didn't ask to be abandoned, either."

Phoebe nodded her head, believing that Helga had a good point. Nobody ever asked to feel depressed, worthless and trapped, but children didn't ask to be abandoned, and children did not ask to be put through the trauma of being abandoned, either.

Helga didn't ask for this. Neither did Bob, or Olga.

"Anyway, the trial for the divorce hearing is tomorrow. I'm supposed to be ready, in case I have to be a witness for it all. I know Olga has opted out. She doesn't want to have anything to do with this divorce. In any case, we should probably get to bed. Hey, uhm…could I possibly borrow your car tomorrow? If you don't need it, that is (1).

"Of course, Helga. Just bring it back when you're done.

Helga finished up her cigarette, and walked back into the house with Phoebe. Both girls crawled into bed, and let sleep over take them.

However, sleep did not come for Helga. After twenty minutes of tossing and turning, she decided to out for another cigarette.

Helga quietly tiptoed out of Phoebe's room, her lighter and two cigarettes in hand, and made her way to the backyard, but not before making her way to the kitchen and pouring herself a glass of wine. With all the stress going on, she needed it, and hopefully, the wine would tire her out. If not, she'd have to force herself to sleep.

She opened the sliding glass door as quietly as possible, and shut it.

Reclining in the cushioned chair, she put her cigarette to her lips, and lit it.

She knew she should be getting some sleep. She knew that the court date was at 10 AM tomorrow morning, but Helga was too awake to even think about sleeping. So many questions were running through her head: what would happen during the trial? How long would it take? Would she be called in as a witness? What kind of questions will she be asked?

Helga took another drag of cigarette.

"Fuck you, Miriam, just…just fuck you," she hissed at no one in particular.

What's more, she was also wondering just how far her parents would go in order to destroy each other. Miriam would do everything she could to prevent the divorce, but Helga knew that her father would do everything he could to have the judge granted. She didn't think her mom had a case, but that didn't stop Helga from thinking about the events that were about to take place.

She decided that thinking about it would serve her no purpose. Instead, she opted to sip her wine, and smoke her cigarette. If she wanted the second one, she'd smoke that as well.

Helga looked up at the night sky.

"Here's wishing my dad good luck."

She hoped she would be awake enough to drive tomorrow.

Alright. The court battle between Bob and Miriam will be next chapter, and will most likely span over 2-3 chapters, MAYBE four. I haven't decided yet. But after that, this story is done.

However, I do have another fic planned, an ArnoldXHelga fic, that's going to be set after this story. I'm thinking of doing a sequel to this, but the ArnoldXHelga story will be a one shot.

The next chapter will not be up for a while. I can't say when at this point, but hopefully this weekend. No promises, though.

Oh, notes for this chapter: Phoebe has a car. Don't ask why, she just does. Helga has her license, but is saving up to buy one, because hey, can any of you honestly see Bob or Miriam buying her one? I sure as hell can't!


End file.
